In a coordinated effort, the economic development minister of Ontario and the economy and innovation minister of Quebec called on Ottawa to work harder on permanent removal of all tariffs on both Canadian steel and aluminum.
Ontario and Quebec are calling on the federal government to take further steps to press the United States to back down on steel and aluminum tariffs, including removing Canada’s retaliatory tariffs.
The tariffs were imposed last year by the U.S., and the American commerce secretary has said they were designed to address the world’s overproduction and overcapacity of steel.
The federal Liberals were criticized last fall for signing a new North American trade pact, which includes the U.S., without securing any guarantees from Washington that it would lift the levies.
Ottawa has applied retaliatory tariffs on $16.6-billion worth of U.S. imports of steel, aluminum and other products, and has announced a financial aid package for industries caught in the crossfire, including up to $2 billion in new funding and support for workers in steel, aluminum and manufacturing sectors.
Ontario’s economic development minister and Quebec’s economy and innovation minister sent a letter to Ottawa today calling on the federal government to secure the permanent removal of all tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Ontario minister Todd Smith says that could include dropping the countermeasure tariffs because he says right now people and industries on both sides of the border are losing out.