tariffs

Thursday March 15, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 15, 2018

PM Trudeau talks steel and doughnuts in Hamilton

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to do more to fight foreign steel dumping on a whirlwind Hamilton tour aimed at reassuring industry leaders and local workers worried about threatened U.S. Tariffs.

The Liberal PM managed to sandwich a steel industry roundtable and a visit to infamously vandalized Donut Monster on Locke Street in between tours of both Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco Tuesday.

 

Canada dodged an economic bullet last week after U.S. President Donald Trump exempted its northern neighbour — at least for now — from a threatened 25-per-cent tariff on steel. Business leaders had estimated such a tariff could affect up to 40,000 local jobs in the industry.

September 18, 2014

But Trump has also insisted on stronger measures to stop countries trying to sneak cheap steel into the U.S. by shipping through Canada.

“That is a concern we share with the Americans,” said Trudeau following a tour of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, later vowing to “keep ensuring that Canadian steel is Canadian steel.”

He said Canada has already taken steps to crack down on steel dumping from countries like China — including adding customs inspectors — but emphasized the government is willing to do more. “We have a whole suite of tariff and countervailing duties that are at our disposal to move forward and ensure that we are not accepting unfairly produced or sold steel,” he said.

August 24, 2016

The PM also fielded questions from steelworkers on a tour of Stelco early Tuesday morning — even if he didn’t necessarily answer with the level of detail they sought.

United Steelworkers local union leader Gary Howe said his members asked if the Liberals will overhaul the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), the legislative rules through which U.S. Steel Canada entered into bankruptcy protection and was ultimately sold and reborn as Stelco.

Frustrated local steelworkers have called the CCAA “legalized theft” and lobbied to enshrine more rights for workers during bankruptcy protection. “We want to know if the law will be changed,” Howe said.

Howe said Trudeau did not commit to specific changes, but agreed “there needs to be a conversation.” (Continued: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

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Friday March 9, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 9, 2018

Trump will give Canada a tariff exemption on steel and aluminum ‘for now,’ senior official says

February 22, 2017

Canada and Mexico will get an exemption “for now” from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, a senior administration official told reporters in an official briefing three hours before Trump’s looming announcement this afternoon.

There will be no time limit on the exemption, said the official, who insisted on anonymity. But the official said it is not “open-ended,” and that its length will depend on how the U.S. feels about the state of discussions about “our security relationship,” which, the official said, will include North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations, since “NAFTA is an important part of the security relationship in the hemisphere.”

January 24, 2018

Trump is scheduled to hold a White House event at 3:30 p.m. to sign the tariffs. For countries outside North America, the official said the president would impose a 25-per-cent tariff on all steel products and a 10-per-cent tariff on all aluminum products.

An exemption would represent a partial diplomatic victory for Canada’s government and for its steel producers, which had faced the possibility of the immediate tariffs that will hit the rest of the world. The official said Trump is not giving exemptions to any other countries, including the European Union nations that have threatened to retaliate on dozens of U.S. products, and he backed off his Monday threat to deny Canada an exemption until there was an agreement on NAFTA.

Still, an exemption subject to ill-defined future considerations would fall short of the full and final exemption Trump has been urged to grant Canada by both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and senior Republicans. (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

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Wednesday March 7, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 7, 2018

Republicans confront Trump over steel tariffs, fearing trade war

In a remarkably public confrontation, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican allies of President Donald Trump pleaded with him Monday to back away from his threatened international tariffs, which they fear could spark a dangerous trade war.

March 3, 2018

Trump retorted: “We’re not backing down.”

The president said U.S. neighbours Canada and Mexico would not be spared from his plans for special import taxes on steel and aluminum, but he held out the possibility of later exempting the longstanding friends if they agree to better terms for the U.S. in talks aimed at revising the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“We’ve had a very bad deal with Mexico; we’ve had a very bad deal with Canada. It’s called NAFTA,” he declared.

October 11, 2017

Trump spoke shortly after a spokesperson for Ryan, a Trump ally, said the Republican leader was “extremely worried” that the proposed tariffs would set off a trade war and urged the White House “to not advance with this plan.”

Likewise, Republican leaders of the House ways and means committee circulated a letter opposing Trump’s plan, and Republican congressional leaders suggested they may attempt to prevent the tariffs if the president moves forward.

August 24, 2017

Trump’s pledge to implement tariffs of 25 per cent on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminum imports has roiled financial markets, angered foreign allies and created unusual alliances for a president who blasted unfavourable trade deals during his 2016 campaign.

Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers from Rust Belt states have praised the planned tariffs, joining with advocates within the administration including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Saturday March 3, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 3, 2018

Canada seeks exemption to Trump’s steel tariffs, vows retaliation

Canada is seeking an exemption to new U.S. trade restrictions on aluminum and steel, and is vowing to retaliate if it’s slapped with any new tariffs.

March 8, 2017

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the proposal “absolutely unacceptable,” echoing the phrase used by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday.

A government official, speaking on background, said Canada believes any new tariffs should not apply to this country due to the highly integrated nature of the North American steel market, and because of the close co-operation between the two countries on defence issues.

November 14, 2017

A final decision from U.S. President Donald Trump is expected next week. Meanwhile, the Canadian government is discussing what its next steps will be if Washington doesn’t order an exemption. For now, officials continue to make Canada’s case at every possible level, the official said.

Speaking at a post-budget event in Barrie, Ont., Trudeau said he has raised the issue with Trump directly several times in the past, but did not say if he had reached out since yesterday’s announcement.

October 9, 2015

He warned of a “significant disruption” in the supply chain and said new tariffs would harm U.S. industry just as much as Canada’s steel sector.

“We will continue to engage with all levels of the American administration in the coming days so that they understand that this proposal is unacceptable,” he said.

In 2017, the U.S. imported 26.9 million tonnes of steel, with 16 per cent of it coming from Canada. (Source: CBC News) 

Lots of discussion pertaining to this cartoon on Reddit.

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Wednesday December 7, 2005

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 7, 2005

U.S. to cut softwood duties almost in half

Canadian officials are cheering a move by the U.S. Commerce Department to chop softwood lumber duties by almost 50 per cent.The Commerce Department set the new rates on Tuesday, settling on average payments of 10.81 per cent.

That figure is a considerable drop from the current average payment of 20.15 per cent.

“This is a very positive step forward as Canada fights to have the illegal duties reduced to zero,” John Allan, president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, told the Canadian Press.

The softwood dispute has been the main trade irritant between Canada and the U.S.

The U.S. believes Canada improperly subsidizes softwood production because most U.S. timber is harvested from private land at market prices, while in Canada the wood is mostly cut on Crown land.

The U.S. government has collected about $5 billion in duties on Canadian softwood exports to the U.S. since the tariffs were introduced in May 2002. (Source: CBC)