U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese economic tsar He Lifeng in Switzerland for talks that could be the first step toward resolving their trade disputes.

“China should open up its market to USA — would be so good for them!!! Closed markets don’t work anymore!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“80% tariff on China seems right. Up to Scott B,” Trump said.

While Trump has on several recent occasions indicated that he expects the punitive tariff rates he has imposed on China to come down, he had not until now floated a potential figure for where they may fall to.

Stock market reacts

Following the post, U.S. stock futures dipped slightly before rising somewhat, while in Europe the U.S. dollar and European stocks also briefly weakened.

Since taking office in January, Trump has hiked levies on imports from China to 145 per cent, in addition to those he imposed on many Chinese goods during his first term and the duties levied on Beijing by the Biden administration.

China hit back by imposing export curbs on some rare earth elements and raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125 per cent, in addition to extra levies on select products including soybeans and liquefied natural gas.

The weekend talks in Geneva have been described by Trump administration officials as a step towards de-escalating tensions with China.

— Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Brendan O’Brien

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Trump’s latest salvo was in response to the premier of Ontario’s announcement that he would place a 25 per cent surcharge on the electricity Canada’s most populous province supplies to 1.5 million U.S. homes unless Trump drops all of his tariff threats against the northern U.S. neighbor.

Ford later agreed to suspend the surcharge and meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday, calling for cooler heads to prevail. Trump said he respected the move.

Why it matters: Dairy, a long-standing bone of contention in U.S-Canada trade relations, is once again in the spotlight.

In a post on his Truth Social media platform, Trump said he has instructed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to add an additional 25 per cent tariff on the metals products from Canada that will go into effect on Wednesday morning. Tariffs totaling 25 per cent on all imported steel and aluminum products originating from other countries will start that day.

Trump lashes out at dairy

Trump further lashed out at Canada for trade protections it has in place on dairy and other agricultural products, and he threatened to “substantially increase” tariffs on cars coming into the U.S. that are set to take effect on April 2 “if other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was not cowed.

“We will not back down. We will be relentless. I apologize to the American people that President Trump decided to have an unprovoked attack on our country,” Ford told MSNBC after Trump’s announcement. About 1.5 million homes and businesses in New York state, Michigan and Minnesota are powered by the province’s utilities, and Trump said he would declare a national emergency to mobilize resources to assist the affected areas.

The latest escalation occurred at a time when there is effectively a power vacuum in Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stepping down and is due to formally hand over power to his successor Mark Carney this week. Carney, who overwhelmingly won the leadership race of the ruling Liberals last weekend, told reporters on Monday he could not speak to Trump until he had formally been sworn in as prime minister.

Markets take more hits

Trump’s broadside delivered another painful jolt to financial markets, with the benchmark S&P 500 index sliding more than 1.0 per cent as investors worry the import taxes will hurt U.S. growth and rekindle inflation. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was down about 0.6 per cent and the Canadian dollar fell to a one-week low against the greenback.

Since hitting a record high about a month after Trump’s inauguration, the S&P 1500 index – among the widest measures of the U.S. stock market – has lost at least $5 trillion in value, a blow to wealth that could also stymie household spending.

Trump is set to meet later on Tuesday with about 100 chief executives of U.S. firms as evidence grows that his trade policies are posing a downside risk to the economy, threatening to dash a “soft landing” that until recently appeared as the base case and reignite inflation.

Whether any of them will be willing to raise such concerns directly with Trump is unknown. Ahead of the gathering, however, businesses ranging from airlines to department stores said his fast-shifting trade policies are starting to have a chilling effect across many industries, as consumers pull back on purchases of everything from basic goods to travel.

Shaky confidence

Broader 25 per cent levies on all steel and aluminum imported to the U.S. from anywhere are due to take effect early on Wednesday, and another round of tariffs on autos as well as tit-for-tat reciprocal tariffs are lined up for early April. Canada and China have retaliated with their own tariffs on U.S. exports, while Mexico stopped short of retaliation after Trump delayed his planned levies on the southern U.S. neighbor.

The metals tariffs will apply to millions of tons of steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and other countries that had been entering the U.S. on a duty-free basis under carve-outs. Trump has vowed that the tariffs will be applied “without exceptions or exemptions” in a move he hopes will aid the struggling U.S. industries.

Trump’s promise to double the metals levies on Canada sent some aluminum prices soaring. Price premiums for aluminum on the U.S. physical market climbed to a record high above $990 a metric ton (C$1,432) on Tuesday.

Trump’s hyper-focus on tariffs since taking office in January has rattled investor, consumer and business confidence in ways that economists increasingly worry could cause a recession. A small business survey on Tuesday showed sentiment weakening for a third straight month, fully eroding a confidence boost following Trump’s November 5 election victory, and a survey of households by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday showed consumers growing more pessimistic about their finances, inflation and the job market.

Reuters polls of economists last week showed risks to the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. economies are piling up amid a chaotic implementation of U.S. tariffs that has created deep uncertainties for businesses and decision-makers. The surveys showed 70 of 74 economists polled across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico judged that the risk of a recession had increased, and upside risks to inflation in the U.S. rose in particular.

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Trump was due to meet with Loeffler on Friday afternoon at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence, CNN said. Reuters was not able to confirm the report.

Trump chose Loeffler, a staunch supporter and donor, to co-chair his inaugural committee after he won the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.

If confirmed, Loeffler would lead a 100,000-person agency with offices in every county in the country, whose remit includes farm and nutrition programs, forestry, home and farm lending, food safety, rural development, agricultural research, trade, and more.

The nominee’s agenda would carry implications for American diets and wallets, both urban and rural. Department of Agriculture officials and staff negotiate trade deals, guide dietary recommendations, inspect meat, fight wildfires, support rural broadband, and much more.

Loeffler was appointed to the U.S. Senate seat from Georgia in 2019 to succeed former Senator Johnny Isakson, who retired. She lost it to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a special election in 2021.

During her stint in the U.S. Senate, Loeffler served briefly on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee in 2020 cleared Senator Loeffler of wrongdoing in connection with stock trades, her office said, after the wealthy Republican was criticized over share sales during the coronavirus outbreak.

Loeffler and her husband’s net worth has been estimated at more than $500 million.

If confirmed, Loeffler would advise the administration on how and whether to implement clean fuel tax credits for biofuels at a time when the sector is hoping to grow through the production of sustainable aviation fuel.

The nominee would also guide next year’s renegotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, in the shadow of disputes over Mexico’s attempt to bar imports of genetically modified corn and Canada’s dairy import quotas.

Trump has said he again plans to institute sweeping tariffs that are likely to affect the farm sector.

Loeffler, then a co-owner of the women’s basketball team Atlanta Dream, came under fire in 2020 when she sent a letter to the WNBA commissioner objecting to the league’s decision to campaign for racial justice and the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

Loeffler faced months of activism from WNBA players who called for her removal from the ownership team. The team was sold in 2021.

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