U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would reinstate a 10 percent tariff on Canadian aluminum.It comes just over a month after the start of the New Mexico-Canada agreement, which aims to lower trade barriers in North America.
“Earlier today I signed an announcement that I would reinstate tariffs on Canadian aluminum to protect American industry,” President Trump said in a speech at a Whirlpool plant in Ohio. “Canada, as always, is taking advantage of us…It’s very unfair to our jobs and our aluminum workers.”
Mr Trump’s decision has been criticised by business groups.Myron Brilliant, executive vice President and head of international affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the tariffs would not only raise costs for U.S. manufacturers, which are opposed by most U.S. aluminum producers, but also invite retaliation against U.S. exports, as has happened before.“We urge the government to reconsider this move,” he said.
The Trump administration first imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum in March 2018, arguing that imports threatened US national security.The tariffs eventually went into effect on steel and aluminum imports from almost every country in the world.
It has also been a source of tension between the United States and Canada as they renegotiate nafta.The Canadian government argues that metal imports from Canada do not pose a national security threat to the US because of the long-standing alliance between the two countries.
But it was not until May 2019 that the United States agreed to lift tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.Because Republican lawmakers have told the White House that without it, the new Mexico-Canada agreement will not pass Congress.
Robert Lighthizer, Mr. Trump’s chief trade negotiator, told Congress in June that he was concerned about a sharp increase in aluminum imports from Canada.The Aluminum Association wrote Mr. Lighthizer a letter urging the administration not to reimpose tariffs.The letter was signed by 15 Alcoa chief executives and senior executives.
At the time, American Aluminum Association President Tom Dobbins said reintroducing tariffs or quotas on aluminum after so much effort to implement the new MEXICan-american agreement would be a ‘shameful step backward.’
In 2019, the U.S. imported about $5.8 billion of bauxite and aluminum from Canada, down from $7 billion in 2017.It is not clear whether all aluminum imports from Canada will face tariffs or be limited to certain categories of aluminum.
