Canada Scrambles to Negotiate with US After Trump Deals a Crushing Blow Overnight
After President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imports effective Wednesday, Canada said it wanted to talk.
Canadian Prime Mark Carney said his government is negotiating with the United States on the tariffs, which rose from 25 percent to 50 percent, according to the National Post.
“The additional tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum announced today by the United States are unlawful and unjustified,” Carney said.
“Canada’s new government is engaged in intensive and live negotiations to have these and other tariffs removed as part of a new economic and security partnership with the United States.”
“We are fighting to get the best deal for Canada, and we will take the time necessary, but no longer,” Carney explained.
Canadian data says more than 90 percent of the steel and aluminum made in Canada is exported to the U.S.
The Aluminum Association of Canada said the additional tariffs make Canadian exports to the U.S. “economically unviable.”
Trump’s presidential action referenced a 2018 finding that “steel articles are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.”
The order said a similar finding was made for aluminum and that seven years later, nothing had changed for the better.