OTTAWA – Erin O’Toole, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Dean Allision, Shadow Minister for International Trade, issued a statement on the United States’ decision to lift tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum:
“Today’s announcement is good news for Canadian businesses and workers, but Justin Trudeau once again signed an agreement that leaves Canadian businesses and workers at risk. According to the new deal, the U.S. can re-impose tariffs if our imports surge “meaningfully” beyond historic volumes. The term “meaningful” is left undefined and this could lead to difficulties in the future.
“Canada is the only country in the world to have a homeland security partnership with the United States, yet we faced 232 tariffs premised upon security concerns. It is also extremely concerning that once again the Trudeau government appears to have only secured a deal after Mexico.
“Canadians have been paying the price for Justin Trudeau’s mishandled NAFTA negotiations and his failure to defend our trade interests around the world. The Liberals could have saved Canadian businesses a year of pain. The U.S. government imposed tariffs because the Liberals failed to take U.S. concerns about steel dumping and transshipment seriously. Since tariffs were imposed, the Liberals have failed to provide real support to affected companies. The Trudeau government has collected around $2 billion in counter-tariffs, but very little of that has actually gone to support our workers.
“Conservatives will continue to make sure that the Trudeau government is accountable to Canadians who have been negatively affected by the Prime Minister’s failure. 98% of Canada’s export access around the world was negotiated by Conservative governments and we will always stand up for Canada’s trade interests and negotiate with countries from a position of strength, cooperation, and shared interests.”
