*It was announced later on April 30 that Canada’s exemption from aluminum and steel tariffs would be extended until June 1, 2018.*
All eyes are on Washington Monday as the deadline looms on a temporary exemption granted to Canada on new steel and aluminum tariffs but there appears to be little in the way of concrete news to put industrial fears at ease.
Policymakers and industry stakeholders are keeping a keen eye south of the border watching for any indication that U.S. President Donald Trump will make the exemption offered to Canada and Mexico on March 8 a permanent thing — or at least, extend the temporary exemption.
Speaking in a press conference Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked specifically whether he had secured an exemption for Canada but offered little apart to say he was “optimistic.”
“The American administration understands it would hurt American jobs as much as it would hurt Canadian jobs,” said Trudeau, touting the tightly-integrated nature of the Canadian and American industrial supply chains.
“We continue to work with the administration but we are optimistic they understand this would be a bad thing for both of our economies.”
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Trump slapped tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on imported aluminum in an attempt to shore up domestic industries in the U.S. by making it more expensive for American companies to buy steel from foreign countries.
The announcement of the tariffs quickly roiled markets even before they went into effect over concerns about how they would impact the tightly integrated supply chains that run between Canada and the U.S.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initially reacted to news of the tariffs by saying “it makes no sense” for the U.S. to target imports from Canada but after securing the temporary exemption, the government has taken a softer approach.
Repeatedly, Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have stressed they are willing to work with Trump to combat attempts by countries like China to dump steel and aluminum on the North American market at unfairly cheap prices.
READ MORE: Chrystia Freeland says progress made as another round of NAFTA talks wraps up
That change in tune has also come as Canada, the U.S. and Mexico continue to negotiate towards an updated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
A week-long series of negotiations wrapped up in Washington last week and are set to begin again on May 7.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters there had been good progress made on the key issue of auto parts.
However, the lingering uncertainty over steel and aluminum tariffs remains an irritant and are coupled with the increasing pressure to get a deal done before the Mexican general election on July 1 and the U.S. mid-term elections in the fall.
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