TRADE TROUBLES
With the new USMCA signed, but not yet ratified, attention is
returning to steel and aluminum – the two biggest casualties in an
escalating trade war where the stakes get higher every day
By Lisa Gordon
It’s been more than a year in the making, but the U.S.-Mexico-
Canada Agreement (USMCA) was finally signed on Nov. 30,
2018, at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
While the document may now have the autographs
of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President
Donald Trump and outgoing Mexican President Enrique
Peña Nieto, it still must be passed by each country’s legislature.
It’s expected that in the U.S., at least, a vote on USMCA
will be delayed until January. Given the antagonism between
Trump and the Democrats, some people believe we could be
into April 2019 before any action is taken.
Trudeau, who appeared less than enthusiastic during the
USMCA signing ceremony and in fact neglected to refer to
it by name, took the opportunity in his post-signing speech
to remind Trump that, “there’s much more work to do, in
lowering trade barriers and in fostering growth that benefits
everyone. And, Donald, it’s all the more reason why we need
to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum
between our countries.”
Even though Canada signed an important USMCA side
letter that will allow it to export up to 2.6 million passenger
vehicles into the United States tariff-free, the steel and aluminum
used to build those automobiles remain the casualties
of an ongoing trade war between Canada and its largest trading
partner.
On June 1, 2018, the U.S. imposed tariffs of 25 per cent
and 10 per cent on imports of Canadian steel and aluminum,
respectively. The Department of Commerce implemented the
CREATIVE COMMONS PHOTO: PRESIDENCIA DE LA REPÚBLICA MEXICANA 32 Q4 2018 www.pilingcanada.ca
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