The Trump administration will remove the tariffs it had imposed on certain Canadian aluminum products on August 16. The announcement was made on September 15, hours before the Government of Canada was expected to announce its countermeasure tariffs.
“It’s good news and not good news,” said Oumar Dicko, Chief Economist, Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), in an interview with Canadian auto dealer. “It’s good news that the (United States) dropped the tariffs, but at the same time they imposed a quota which Canada didn’t agree on.”
Dicko said CADA was pleased the U.S. decided to remove the tariffs that were unfairly imposed on Canada, but there remains concerns around the quota and the fact that the U.S. can re-impose the tariffs at any time in the future.
The U.S. unilaterally created quotas and plans to review them on a monthly basis. If Canada surpasses the quota, the tariffs could return — though this may be unlikely before the November election in the U.S. Dicko said they likely pulled back the tariffs due to concern around Canada’s retaliation, in addition to the political angle. Canada’s countermeasure tariffs would have impacted businesses and factories in pro-Trump ground.
On Twitter, Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, said Canada was ready to impose tariffs in retaliation, should the U.S decide to re-launch its aluminum levy.
“We fully retain our right to impose countermeasures if the U.S. decides to re-impose aluminum tariffs — and are prepared to do so,” said Ng in a tweet.
