Major US business groups urge for aluminium and steel tariffs exemption on Mexico and Canada

On Monday, November 19, more than 30 American business and agriculture groups urged the United States Trade Representatives Robert Lighthizer to exempt aluminium and steel import tariffs on Mexico and Canada, arguing that such tariffs were hurting exporters and putting jobs at risk.

In a letter addressed to Lighthizer, those business and agriculture groups wrote that Section 232 tariffs, since the time came into effect on June 1, affected their relationships with most important trading partners, and thus, strongly recommended to remove the metal tariffs from Canada and Mexico.

The groups claimed that Section 232 tariffs on aluminium and steel caused immense harm to American manufacturers, consumers, and workers by raising costs for a wide array of industries.

“This endangers the jobs of millions of workers in those industries, who collectively represent a far greater share of the American workforce than those who benefit from the restrictions,” the letter read.

The groups even mentioned in the letter that tariffs on aluminium and steel were entirely inconsistent with the overall goals of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and that may create impediments to Congressional passage of the bill.

The US-Mexico-Canada agreement that reached more than a month ago is expected to be signed on November 30 when leaders from all three countries will gather for the Group of Twenty (G20) meetings in Buenos Aires despite steel and aluminium tariffs, but the business groups fear if discrepancy over the tariffs makes the occasion less pleasant.