Trump administration’s new tariffs on Canadian aluminium to injure both economies: Justin Trudeau

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau stated that it will hurt US and Canadian economies if the Trump administration imposes new tariffs on Canadian aluminium.

On 29^th June’20, Trudeau said: “We have heard, obviously, the musings and proposals from the US that perhaps there need to be more tariffs on aluminium.”

Trudeau pointed out that “what we simply highlight is: the S needs Canadian aluminium”.

The Prime Minister said: “If they put tariffs on Canadian aluminium, they’re simply increasing the costs of inputs, necessary inputs, to their manufacturing base which will hurt the American economy. Again, we see that our economies are so interlinked that punitive actions by the US administration end up hurting Americans the same way they end up hurting Canadians.”

He added: “We will continue to advocate for continued free and fair trade between our two countries in a relationship that has been extraordinarily beneficial to our two countries for many, many decades.”

Trudeau’s remarks came after last week’s reports that the US plans to re-impose a tariff of 10% on Canadian aluminium into the US unless the Canadian government agrees to limit aluminium exports.

Robert Lighthizer, US trade representative said in a testimony to the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month that recent surges in aluminium exports, substantially from Canada, were contrary to the agreement that ended the year-long stalemate in May 2019.

If the US decides to re-impose tariffs on Canada, it will re-open a trade war between the two countries that has been restoring since similar tariffs were removed just over a year ago.

The agreement to evade those tariffs came amid indications that new NAFTA trade talks were moving in a positive direction in May 2019.