The President's Daily Brief
March 12th, 2025: Trump Slaps New Tariffs On Canada & Security Clearance Crackdown
Wed, 12 Mar 2025
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: The trade war with Canada escalates—President Trump slaps fresh tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum after Ontario’s governor announces electricity surcharges for American customers. We’ll break down the latest developments and what this means for U.S.-Canada relations. A diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East—Israel and Lebanon are set to negotiate their land border for the first time in years, just months after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. The Trump administration moves to revoke security clearances from former Biden officials once again, raising questions about access to classified intelligence. And in today’s Back of the Brief—the Department of Homeland Security rolls out a new CBP app with a controversial “self-deport” feature. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President’s Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the latest tariffs imposed by Trump on Canada?
It's Wednesday, March 12th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the trade war between the US and Canada heats up, with President Trump threatening massive tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, after the governor of Ontario announced electricity surcharges for American customers.
I'll have the latest. Later in the show, just months after Israel's invasion of Lebanon, a breakthrough. Israel and Lebanon are set to negotiate their land border for the first time in years. Plus, the Trump administration announces that it's once again pulling security clearances from former Biden officials.
And in today's Back of the Brief, the Department of Homeland Security is launching a new Customs and Border Patrol, or CBP, app with a self-deport feature. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
Chapter 2: What led to the trade war escalation with Canada?
We'll begin with an update on the North American trade war, as President Trump sent markets tumbling on Tuesday after announcing new retaliatory tariffs on Canada, only to pump the brakes again on the new duties just hours later.
It was another day of back and forth announcements from the White House, which began when President Trump declared his intent to slap a 50 percent tariff on imports of Canadian steel and aluminum, doubling a previously announced 25 percent tariff on the products set to take effect on Wednesday.
Trump announced the retaliatory measure after Ontario Premier Doug Ford imposed a 25% tax on electricity exports to the U.S. on Monday. That's according to a report from CNN. It appeared the trade war was set for an extraordinary escalation, threatening to further royal markets that are, well, frankly, already in turmoil.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump took to Truth Social, calling the electricity tariff, quote, outrageous. In addition to imposing a 50% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, Trump vowed to target Canadian electricity with a 25% tariff and impose new taxes aimed at crippling the Canadian auto industry. He added that the only solution to the trade crisis was for Canada to become the 51st state.
But after several tense hours, both sides decided to keep their powder dry and back down from the economic threats, at least for now. U.S.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ontario Premier Ford issued a joint statement Tuesday afternoon, saying they would meet on Thursday in Washington to renegotiate aspects of the current North American Free Trade Treaty, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
In the meantime, Ontario agreed to suspend its 25% surcharge on electricity exports, while White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro confirmed that Trump's 50% retaliatory tariffs on steel and aluminum would be shelved. Are you following me so far? Critically, however, the previously planned 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from Canada and all other U.S.
trading partners will still go into effect today. Addressing the chaotic events, a White House spokesman said, President Trump has once again used the leverage of the American economy to deliver a win for the American people, end quote. Okay. Still, trade tensions remain high between the U.S. and Canada, and jittery investors are anticipating further chaos despite the temporary reprieve.
The Canadian government has still promised to retaliate against the previously announced 25% tariff on global steel and aluminum, though it's not clear what their next move will be. It's impossible to keep score here, isn't it? Trump, meanwhile, threatened more levies on Canadian exports in the near future. if they don't lift various tariffs on U.S. dairy and agricultural products.
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Chapter 3: What diplomatic breakthrough is happening between Israel and Lebanon?
Gabbard also confirmed that security clearances had been revoked for the 51 former intelligence officials who signed a controversial 2020 letter implying that Hunter Biden's laptop could be Russian disinformation.
Trump had signed an executive order on his first day back in office directing their removal, though it remains unclear just how many of them still had active access to classified information. Unsurprisingly, Trump's opponents are framing the move as politically motivated crackdown. I told you it would be unsurprising. Accusing him of wielding national security protocols as a tool for retribution.
Well, that's never been done before. His earlier decision to strip Biden's sparked fierce debate, and now the administration has taken steps to revoke security access for lawyers at firms such as Covington & Burling and Perkins Coie, both of which played key roles in legal battles against him. But Trump's security shakeup isn't just about settling political scores.
It's also about restoring accountability in a system that, in his view, has been weaponized against him and his supporters. Even some of his former allies are now caught in the crossfire. His first administration's Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, a once loyal Republican who has since emerged as a sharp critic of Trump's foreign policy, also lost his clearance. Okay.
Coming up next in the back of the brief, the Department of Homeland Security has launched a new app. They've got a new app that officials say will allow immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally to report when they self-deport. We'll have those details next.
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Welcome back to the PDB. In today's back of the brief, the Trump administration is revamping a controversial immigration app from the Biden era, adding a feature that encourages migrants living illegally in the U.S. to, quote, self-deport. The U.S.
Department of Homeland Security launched the new app on Tuesday, which is a repurposed version of the CBP1 app that the Biden administration first introduced back in January of 2023.
Under that program, migrants were able to use the CBP One cell phone app to claim refugee status, which allowed at least 936,000 illegal immigrants, that's almost a million, to apply for asylum from within their home countries before flying to the U.S.
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Chapter 4: How is the Trump administration handling security clearances?
Once they arrived in the U.S., the vast majority of migrants were released into the country on parole, allowing them to get work permits and stay in the country for up to two years.
But that program was shut down through an executive order within minutes of Trump being sworn into office, along with virtually every other Biden-era program that facilitated the influx of nearly 8 million migrants into the U.S. over the last four years. And that's just those that we know about, the known gotaways. Well, that's a whole nother question.
The White House has now officially rebranded the app, dubbing it CBP Home, in an attempt to accelerate the removal of illegal migrants as they work to secure more resources from Congress to enact Trump's mass deportation agenda. The app contains a self-deportation reporting feature, which lets migrants submit their intent to depart the U.S. to the DHS.
Officials with DHS said the app will be the centerpiece of a broader $200 million domestic and international ad campaign that will encourage undocumented migrants to, quote, stay out and leave now. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued a statement saying, quote, the CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self-deport.
so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream. If they don't, we'll find them, we'll deport them, and they'll never return, end quote. But according to a report from Axios, the app is already causing controversy among immigration advocates. Well, again, there's not a surprise there.
Who denounced it as a mean-spirited attempt to scare and confuse migrants who came into the country under what was then a lawful federal program. A representative of the advocacy group America's Voice said it will, quote, only add chaos and cruelty to an already broken system.
Others said they're advising migrants to avoid the app, warning it will be used to collect their personal data, with no guarantees of securing a legal pathway for residency or citizenship in the future. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, the 12th of March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
And, of course, as you may well know, if you happen to be in the know, to listen to the show ad-free, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
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