Ramsey’s call for action on steel tariffs rebuffed

Fearing the reprieve Canadian steel producers have been given is only temporary, MP Tracey Ramsey (NDP — Essex) called for an emergency debate Monday in the House of Commons to address potential tariffs on steel and aluminum exports to the U.S.

But her demand for a debate made in a letter addressed to House Speaker Geoff Regan was denied by him several hours later, shortly after question period. “I’m extremely disappointed,” Ramsey said. “The prime minster toured around to steel towns last week, saying that he was listening to workers.

“Having a debate was a concrete way of doing that, but it’s unfortunate they took a partisan approach.”

Ramsey, a member of the parliamentary steel caucus and her party’s international trade critic, in her letter noted the steel industry employs 22,000 Canadians directly and another 100,000 indirectly. The aluminum industry employs 8,300 workers with another 20,000 jobs indirectly connected to it, she said. “President (Donald) Trump has made it clear just how precarious this reprieve is from tariffs,” Ramsey said in her letter. “These are good-paying family and community-supporting jobs across the country that we cannot afford to lose.”

Trump has exempted Canada and Mexico from a recent enforcement of industry tariffs — 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum.

The U.S. president has linked the steel tariffs to NAFTA negotiations so Ramsey believes the reprieve is temporary.

“We narrowly escaped the tariff and they are tied to NAFTA negotiations,” she said. “In the window of time we have, a lot of measures can be taken. We can’t take this time for granted. We are in an urgent period where we need to act.” Since her request failed for a debate, which she hoped would have resulted in immediate government recommendations, Ramsey will next demand an emergency meeting of the all-party steel caucus. She hopes that could happen within a couple of weeks. “I’m not going to stop,” she said. “This is a critical issue and we have a small window to act quickly. There are a lot of concrete actions that could be taking place.” “There is nowhere where you can go within our manufacturing sector where steel and aluminum don’t underpin the industry,” Ramsey said.

Having Canada Border Services Agency properly staffed to “catch illegal steel” sold at below market prices from overseas is critical, Ramsey said.

“We have to make sure we are not the ones receiving all this dumped steel once they can’t get in to the U.S.,” she said.

The Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce was among a group from across the province that last week issued a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and offered a series of recommendations — most notably focused on a crackdown at the border to stop dumping of cheaper overseas steel. “It’s important to put all the pressure we can on the government to make sure Canada does not have dumping of this steel on our door step and displacing jobs,” said Matt Marchand, CEO for the local chamber.

Locally, Atlas Tube under Zekelman Industries in Harrow supports roughly 220 workers in manufacturing jobs. The company is the largest buyer of flat-rolled steel in North America — 2.5 million tons (more than any auto manufacturer in Canada). The company also exports more than $250 million of product per year. But steel that travels to North America from overseas is often government-subsidized and can be sold here at cheaper prices. Sometimes false labelling is used or the steel is altered to steer around regulations and restrictions in order to enter Canada or the U.S.

“We need the resources to respond quickly to these unfair trading practices,” said Marchand, who supported Ramsey’s demand for an emergency debate in Ottawa. If Canada does not soon introduce new get-tough steel policies, U.S. officials — including Trump — may see this nation as being weak by allowing cheaper steel to enter North America and eventually the U.S. market, Marchand said.