Trade Cases

Canada Announces Tariffs and Industry Aid Package
Written by Sandy Williams
June 29, 2018
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will go into effect on July 1 in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, said Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday. The tariffs on $12.6 billion of U.S. goods are equivalent to the value of steel and aluminum products hit by the Section 232 tariffs.
Freeland, accompanied by Industry Minister Navdeep Bains and Employment Minister Patty Hajdu, addressed workers and reporters at Stelco Steel in Hamilton, Ontario.
Freeland said the country is working closely with the EU and Mexico in addressing what it believes are unjustified tariffs. “We will not escalate, and we will not back down,” Freeland said. “We are acting very much in sorrow, not in anger,” she added.
Bains unveiled a C$2 billion aid package to support the steel and aluminum sectors. The package includes: up to $1.7 billion in commercial financing for steel and aluminum enterprises over the next two years; $250 million from the Strategic Innovation Fund to support innovation and growth; $50 million over five years from Global Affairs Canada to help companies diversify exports and take advantage of new trade agreements; $25 million over four years to extend Work-Sharing agreements from 38 to 76 weeks to help avoid layoffs and retain skilled workers; and additional investment of $50 million over two years to provide displaced workers training and support.
“Our government stands by you. Stands with you,” said Bains. “We have your backs.”
The final list of Canadian tariffs can be accessed here.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Trade Cases

SMU Survey: Less support seen for Trump tariff policies
Meanwhile, an increasing number think it's too early to say whether the penalties are going to bring more manufacturing to the US.

CRU: USW seeks exclusion for Canada from Trump’s tariffs
The union is also urging stronger enforcement against countries such as China which break trade rules, and a coordinated Canada-US strategy to protect union jobs across the North America

Price on trade: A lot happened last week – and it wasn’t all about tariffs
Should foreign investment be allowed to reshape the American steel Industry? Not to be lost in the recent on-again-off-again tariff frenzy, Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover of U.S. Steel has also found itself in President Trump’s crosshairs when it comes to trade and industrial policy. Nippon Steel initially announced its nearly $15-billion bid for U.S. Steel […]

Trump signs executive order aimed at making US shipbuilding ‘great again’
President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order meant to breathe new life into American shipbuilding and curb Chinese dominance in the sector.

Trump still against selling USS to Japanese firm: Report
Despite ordering a new review of Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel, President Trump said he is still against selling USS to a Japanese company, according to media reports.