President Trump has issued a series of executive orders, including orders imposing tariffs or duties on articles imported from Canada, and declaring a national energy emergency.
Under Section 2 of the Imposing Duties executive order, most imports from Canada are subject to a general 25% tariff . However, Section 2(b) applies a lesser 10% tariff to “energy or energy resources" as defined in section 8 of Executive Order 14156 of January 20, 2025 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency), and related Federal Register notices.
In turn, section 8 of the Declaring a National Energy Emergency executive order defines “energy” or “energy resources” to include:
- crude oil
- natural gas
- lease condensates
- natural gas liquids
- refined petroleum products
- uranium
- coal
- biofuels
- geothermal heat
- the kinetic movement of flowing water
- critical minerals, as defined by 30 U.S.C. 1606 (a)(3).
New England's regional energy market operator, ISO New England, issued a statement shortly after the tariffs took effect. According to the statement, ISO-NE is seeking guidance from the administration on what role it will have in implementing these tariffs, but "cannot speculate on what, if any, impact these actions will have on wholesale electricity prices or the level of imports into the region."
ISO-NE also noted that in 2024, Canadian imports powered about 9 percent of New England's grid-served net energy for load.
