Tariff time: Ministers in Steeltown, Saguenay June 29 to detail aid, response
by The Canadian Press
Trudeau's ministers are headed to the epicentres of Canadian steel and aluminum production, Hamilton, Ont., and Quebec's Saguenay region, to unveil details of the feds plan to help insulate the industries from tariffs
OTTAWA—Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will visit Hamilton on Friday to reveal the details of the federal government’s plan to support Canada’s tariff-targeted steel and aluminum industries.
Freeland will also reveal the complete, updated list of U.S. products and industries that Ottawa intends to target with its own barrage of retaliatory tariffs, which go into effect Sunday.
International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will make a similar announcement in Quebec’s Saguenay region, a home to the bulk of Canada’s aluminum industry.
Related: From ketchup to toilet paper: Canada launching retaliatory tariff broadside
U.S. President Donald Trump has specifically targeted Canadian steel and aluminum makers with tariffs of 25 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, on imports from Canada, justifying the move on the basis of national security.
Trump has also threatened a 25 per cent tariff on autos built in Canada, and linked that threat directly to the stalled talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Experts from a variety of vulnerable industries painted a dire portrait of the future under a Canada-U.S. trade war during a Commons trade committee hearing earlier this week—particularly the prospect of auto tariffs, which Flavio Volpe of the Auto Parts Manufacturer’s Association described as “carmageddon.”
