Canadian steel not a national security threat, U.S. commerce secretary says

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says Canada is not a national security threat to the United States and that a revitalized NAFTA could make the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum go away.

Ross also acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. doesn’t have a trade deficit on steel with Canada. In fact, he said it has a surplus with its northern neighbour in terms of dollar value. Ross made the comments in Washington to a U.S. Senate committee that’s examining tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on some of that country’s closest partners, including Canada. The duties are based on the premise the countries are threats to American national security under the controversial Section 232 of U.S. trade law.

The remarks by Trump’s point person on tariffs provided some encouragement for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. Freeland said Wednesday that officials have been trying to convey the message to Washington that the trade balance on steel isn’t tilted in Canada’s favour and that it poses no national security threat to the U.S. “We think that is self-evident, and that is what we have been saying from the beginning,” Freeland said of the security issue before applauding Ross’s remarks on the trade balance.

Under a grilling by Republicans and Democrats, Ross heard concerns that looming retaliatory tariffs by allies, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union, would kill American jobs and drive up prices for consumers.

In one key exchange, Ross played down Trump’s national security rationale, and instead linked the tariffs to the unresolved renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “The Canadian steel industry is not being accused of directly and individually being a security threat,” Ross testified. “The national security implication is in the aggregate, all of the steel.” Ross said Canada and Mexico were initially exempted from the national security tariffs “pending negotiations of NAFTA overall.” The Trudeau government for the most part maintains there is no connection between the tariffs and NAFTA, but when asked Wednesday about a possible link, Freeland said such a question is best put to the U.S. administration. For his part, Ross said U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer is optimistic NAFTA talks “could pick up steam” after Mexico’s July 1 presidential election.