The head of Canada鈥檚 steelworkers鈥� union says the Liberal government 鈥渇olded鈥� by agreeing to a new trade deal with the United States and Mexico that maintains steep tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. However, a former ambassador says he doesn鈥檛 expect the tariffs to remain when the final deal is signed.
Ken Neumann, Canadian director of the United Steelworkers, told 麻豆影视 Channel that he was alarmed to see that the 25 per cent Canadian tariff on steel and 10 per cent tariff on Canadian aluminum imposed by the Trump administration in June have not been addressed in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement announced on Sunday.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had the prime minster tour many of our facilities throughout the country, aluminum and steel, and (he) basically said, 鈥楲ook, we鈥檝e got your back, these (tariffs) are illegal,鈥欌�� Neumann said Monday. 鈥淭o find out that the 25 and 10 are still there ... is an alarming situation. We鈥檙e very unhappy.鈥�
Neumann said he believes Trudeau鈥檚 government was 鈥減anicked鈥� by U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 threats to slap tariffs on Canadian automobiles and so sacrificed Canada鈥檚 23,000 steelworkers in order to get a better deal for autoworkers.
Neumann urged the government to reject ratification of the new deal unless the tariffs are lifted.
Former Canadian ambassador to the U.S., Michael Kergin, told 麻豆影视 Channel that he believes the steel and aluminum tariffs will be lifted before the deal is signed.
The deadline is November 30, which is three weeks after U.S. midterm elections, when trade could be on voters鈥� minds.
Kergin said the tariffs imposed on Canada are 鈥渘ot huge鈥� but it鈥檚 important for the U.S. not to 鈥済ive those away too quickly鈥� due to the signal that it would send to their other trading partners whose steel is a bigger threat to the U.S. steel industry.
鈥淭he Americans are very, very concerned about bringing their steel manufacturing back into their country, so (the tariffs on Canada are) emblematic of a number of other arrangements that they have with other countries as well,鈥� Kergin said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Monday that eliminating the tariffs 鈥渞emains a priority for us鈥� and is 鈥渟omething that the Americans have indicated that they are more than willing to work on.鈥�
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said that there is currently 鈥渕omentum鈥� and 鈥渨e are definitely looking to take advantage of that momentum to intensify conversations about steel and aluminum.鈥�
