China News Service, Toronto, August 6 (Reporter Yu Ruidong) US President Trump announced on August 6 the restoration of 10% tariffs on some aluminum products imported from Canada. The Canadian government responded that night, criticizing the US's actions as unreasonable and unacceptable, and stated that it would quickly take countermeasures of "a dollar for a dollar".
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said through his social platform account that the Canadian government will always support its aluminum workers, "We did this in 2018 and will do it again now."
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland (Chrystia Freeland) issued a statement saying that Canadian aluminum products do not damage but strengthen the national security of the United States. The aluminum trade between Canada and the United States has long been mutually beneficial and has made the North American aluminum industry more competitive globally.
Freeland said that with the new North American Free Trade Agreement (the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) coming into effect on July 1, now is the time to advance the competitiveness of the North American economy, rather than hinder it. This new agreement sets the rules of origin for automobiles, requiring that 70% of the aluminum purchased by North American automakers are produced in North America. She said that under the epidemic and economic crisis, the last thing Canadian and American workers need is new tariffs.
The Aluminum Association of Canada expressed great disappointment at the US’s move to impose tariffs immediately after the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement entered into force, and responded in a statement that Canada’s aluminum exports to the US have not increased sharply, so Canada should consider all Retaliation options.
The new US tariffs will take effect on August 16. The Canadian government stated that it will announce further information on countermeasures as soon as possible.
On the eve of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement officially came into effect, the media disclosed that the Trump administration intends to impose tariffs on Canadian aluminum products again. This has caused concerns and dissatisfaction among the Canadian government and industry. Trudeau declined the invitation to attend the three-nation summit in the United States in early July, causing the three leaders to congratulate the US-Mexico-Canada agreement to take effect.
The United States announced at the end of May 2018 that it imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum on Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Canada subsequently announced countermeasures, imposing retaliatory tariffs on US products worth 16.6 billion Canadian dollars, which is equal to the tax levied by the US. The Canadian side also claimed that this was the strongest trade action taken by Canada after the Second World War. In May 2019, in order to reach the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the Trump administration agreed to cancel tariffs on aluminum products in Canada.
According to Canadian official statistics, Canada is the fourth largest aluminum producer in the world, with a production of 2.8 million tons in 2019. In 2019, the total trade in goods and services between Canada and the United States exceeded US$721 billion, with an average of nearly US$2 billion per day. From 2017 to 2019, the total bilateral trade of primary and semi-finished aluminum products between the two countries was 11.1 billion Canadian dollars per year. (Finish)