Before meeting with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Thursday in Washington, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick was interviewed by Stuart Varney on Fox News.
When Varney asked “What do you want from him?” Lutnick replied, “Oh, I think we’re just going to have a nice conversation. Canada is in a bit of flux,” and noted that Mark Carney is replacing Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister.
Lutnick added: “We’re going to negotiate with all of Canada, so obviously we’re going to wait for their new Prime Minister.”
Lutnick said of his upcoming meeting that he will “lower the temperature” and said of Ford, while pantomiming boxing fists: “He thought he’d be sort of the big man and tackle Donald Trump but you know you can’t tackle Donald Trump.” Lutnick added that Trump “won’t let someone push him around.”
“The president is here to protect American workers. He’s here to protect American industry.” Let’s bring manufacturing back to America for the health of our economy and the strength of our national security. The Trump Administration is ending outdated trade policies that ripped… pic.twitter.com/hJdognDZH7
— Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick) March 12, 2025
Lutnick addressed the high tariffs that President Trump has imposed — including the 25% tariff on steel and aluminum — and reiterated the MAGA messaging that if any country wants lower tariffs in the U.S. they can have them, “if we treat each other fairly.”
Ford released a joint statement with Lutnick on X (below), which addressed their upcoming meeting on Thursday with the U.S. Trade Representative “to discuss a renewed USMCA ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline. In response, Ontario agreed to suspend its 25 per cent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota.”
Please see a joint statement from United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and myself:
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 11, 2025
Today, United States Secretary of Commerce @howardlutnick and Premier of Ontario Doug Ford had a productive conversation about the economic relationship between the United States…
Many Canadians are voicing their frustration with Ford on X. As one replied: “Never surrender. Backing down is cowardice and Trump thrives on it. Pull the damn plug.” Another replied: “You dropped tariffs in exchange for… a meeting?” and “So much for not backing down.”
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