Canada, EU Tariff Retaliations, and Other Headlines of the Day

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Top of the Agenda

Canada and the European Union (EU) announced retaliatory duties yesterday after the United States put 25 percent tariffs on global aluminum and steel imports. Canada’s levies take effect today and cover almost $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, while the EU’s cover $28 billion and are due to be applied in two stages by April 13. The EU remains open to negotiations in order to reach “better solutions” than more tariffs, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. But U.S. President Donald Trump signaled more escalation yesterday, saying that “of course I’m going to respond” to the new EU duties. 

Varied diplomatic responses. Other countries were cautious in their reactions, with some signaling hopes that a U.S. walk-back was possible:

• United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the country would take a “pragmatic approach” and hoped to negotiate a new trade deal with the United States that addressed bilateral concerns. 
• Australia, Japan, and South Korea continue to aim for exemptions, which they obtained when Trump enacted aluminum and steel tariffs during his first term.  

But countries that announced retaliatory measures said they needed to protect their industries, too. “We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted,” Canada’s finance minister said, while von der Leyen called the EU package “strong but proportionate.”
 

The business fallout. U.S. inflation data announced yesterday was lower than many economists predicted—but the data referred to last month, before Trump’s latest tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico, as well as global aluminum and steel products, were put in place. While the American Iron and Steel Institute welcomed the tariffs, saying they addressed “unfair trade practices” such as dumping, the chair of the National Association of Home Builders warned that “ultimately, consumers will pay for these [aluminum and steel] tariffs in the form of higher home prices.” Likewise, the American Automotive Policy Council said the levies “will add significant costs for automakers, suppliers, and consumers.”

“The president has made clear that tariffs are a critical tool in his toolbox, both for economic and for non-economic issues. It’s a source of leverage, and as a source of leverage it’s proven to be pretty productive in terms of bringing countries to the table to have conversations about outstanding issues,” CFR President Michael Froman tells CBC.

Across the Globe

U.S.-Russia talks. A U.S. delegation including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow today to discuss a U.S.- and Ukraine-endorsed proposal for a thirty-day truce. Ahead of the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the country’s Kursk region and called for the defeat of Ukrainian forces there. A foreign policy advisor to Putin told state television today that the cease-fire proposal was “nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military.” He said Putin would likely outline Moscow’s position in more detail later in the day. 

Demise of Swedish battery firm. Northvolt, once considered to be Europe’s best chance at challenging Asian companies in electric vehicle battery manufacturing, has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden. European carmakers generally buy batteries from Chinese or South Korean manufacturers. Northvolt had secured a $5 billion loan from the EU in January 2024, but filed for bankruptcy in the United States by November. The firm will be split up and sold. 

India eases oil exploration. The legislature approved a bill designed to facilitate oil and gas production in the country by easing requirements regarding infrastructure and offering more contract predictability to energy companies. The country’s oil and gas minister said “we need to step up our exploration and production activities” as “we are going to rely on conventional energy for some time.” Almost 90 percent of the crude oil that India used between April and December 2024 was imported.

G20 panel on African debt. South Africa, in its role as the first African country to chair the Group of Twenty (G20), is establishing an expert panel on how to address high levels of sovereign debt on the continent. African countries are due to pay nearly $89 billion in debt servicing costs this year and twenty countries risk entering debt distress, South Africa’s treasury said. 

FCC China council. U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head Brendan Carr announced the creation of a national security council to defend against cyber threats from China and other foreign adversaries, and compete in critical technologies such as artificial intelligence. An early focus of its work is expected to be the Salt Typhoon Chinese hack on U.S. telecoms, the Financial Times reported. An advisory board at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was previously probing the attack, but was disbanded by the Trump administration in January. 

Pakistan’s train rescue. Security forces said they ended a standoff that lasted more than a day with a separatist group that hijacked a train in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Dozens of hostages being held on the train were freed. Pakistani authorities said twenty-one hostages and thirty-three attackers were killed in the events, while the separatist group said fifty hostages were killed. A global terrorism index by the Institute for Economics and Peace ranked Pakistan as the second country most affected by terrorism last year.

Reported migrant transfer from Guantánamo. The Trump administration moved forty migrant detainees from the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, back to the United States on Tuesday, unnamed officials told the New York Times. DHS did not immediately comment on the matter. It is the second time the administration has moved people to the military base and then removed them after a few weeks.

Mediation efforts in DRC conflict. Angola plans to host direct negotiations next week regarding the insurgency in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It has invited delegations from the Congolese military and the rebel group M23; the Congolese government confirmed it had received an invitation while a leader of the rebels said such talks are “the only civilized option to resolve the current crisis.” 

The Day Ahead

• Trump meets with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House.

• An EU-South Africa summit takes place in Cape Town.

• A total lunar eclipse will be visible from the Western Hemisphere.

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres begins a visit to Bangladesh.

• Cypriot, Greek, and Israeli foreign ministers meet in Athens.