U.S. weighs reimposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is weighing reimposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum over concerns about a surge in exports to the United States, a move that would strain ties and could incite Canadian retaliation just as President Donald Trump’s revised North American trade deal goes into effect.
The Trump administration exempted Canada and Mexico in an agreement in May 2019 from the levies it had placed on foreign steel and aluminum, a concession that helped bring negotiations over revising the North American Free Trade Agreement to a close.
For much of 2018 and 2019, those tariffs on foreign metals had inflamed tensions with Canada and Mexico, complicating efforts to finalize a trade agreement among the three countries. The new North American deal, which Trump renamed the United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement, is set to go into effect July 1.
But the agreement lifting the tariffs contained a provision that allowed the United States to raise tariffs again in the event of a surge in imported products. In the deal, the countries promised to carry out consultations if a surge occurred, and if those were not successful, the governments could impose a tariff of 25 percent for certain steel products or 10 percent on certain aluminum products.
Imports of raw Canadian aluminum have trended higher since that agreement was signed. But Matt Meenan of the Aluminum Association, which represents U.S. and foreign-based companies that make up the vast majority of the industry, said the uptick was consistent with historical trends and “not particularly surprising given market fundamentals.”
“We don’t think it warrants going back to the drawing board on all of this stuff — and certainly not a week before implementing USMCA,” Meenan said.
U.S. officials have discussed the increase in imports with their Canadian counterparts, and given Canada a July 1 deadline to respond, people familiar with the discussions said.
Neither the U.S. trade representative nor the Canadian government responded to requests for comment.
In May, the American Primary Aluminum Association, which represents the two companies, sent a letter to Robert E. Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, and Wilbur Ross, the Commerce secretary, saying that an import surge from Canada was threatening the viability of their business.