Trump Officially Lifts Steel, Aluminum Tariffs From Canada and Mexico
President Trump has issued a proclamation formally enacting the deal reached last week to lift tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum. Officials in all three nations say the move should propel talks on a new trade pact to replace NAFTA.
Manufacturing groups in Michigan are welcoming President Trump’s proclamation that he’s formally lifting tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico, effective today.
Those countries have followed suit by removing tariffs on U.S. goods.
Companies in Michigan have complained the year-long trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada, in particular, has cost them billions of dollars and put existing jobs at risk.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the retaliatory tariffs were causing harm to workers on both sides of the border.
But the Michigan Manufacturers Association’s Mike Johnston says the trade standoff hit the Wolverine state especially hard.
“Canada buys more products from Michigan than all the other countries in the world combined,” he said.
Johnston estimates firms that depend on steel or aluminum have lost tens of billions of dollars in Michigan alone since the imposition of tariffs.
Now officials in both Washington, D.C. and Toronto predict removing the tariffs should pave the way for the new USMCA trade deal to finally move forward and replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to meet with Trudeau at the end of this month in hopes of finalizing the specifics of the new trade pact.
The agreement would still have to be approved by Congress.
