Canadian manufacturers call US aluminium tariffs “Unjustified and Unnecessary”

Showing grief and disgust, Canada’s manufacturing industry has condemned the new aluminium import tariffs imposed by the Trump Government. They are worried about the adverse economic impact that the tariffs may cause, slowing the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Industry experts and groups, which represent companies whose supply chains rely heavily on aluminium, call the new tariffs “unjustified and unnecessary.”

“It’s very disheartening that the U.S. would take this action,” said Dennis Darby, chief executive of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, which represents more than 2,500 manufacturers across the country.

“The last thing that any industry needs right now is extra costs,” he added.

He fears the tariffs will hurt the efforts putting in for restoring the Canadian and American economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also fears the price shoot of end-user products wherein aluminium is the key component.

“Manufacturers are saying this is going to increase my costs because I’m not sure, in this COVID-19 environment, if prices can go up because consumer demand is so fragile right now,” said Darby.

He pointed out that the Canadian aluminium industry employs around 10,000 workers and is the largest aluminium supplier to the US. Both the US and Canada’s supply chains are so intermingled that they have no choice but to work together.

Derby said he is pleased by the assurance of Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland about the counter tariffs to be imposed on $3.6 billion worth of US products.

"Any American who buys a can of beer or a soda or a car or a bike will suffer,” said Chrystia Freeland.

Jean Simard, head of the Aluminium Association of Canada, commented that the main victims of the US import tax would be consumers and also those businesses in the US that process Canadian aluminium into components and products.

For instance, the Ford F-150 is all made out of Canadian aluminium, said Simard.

Luke Chapman, the interim president of Beer Canada, is worried about beverage cans making the list of potential retaliatory tariffs. His organisation represents about 50 brewers that produce 90 per cent of the beer made in the country and many of them have been hit hard by the COVID-19.

“Our brewers source beer cans from both Canada and the U.S. suppliers, but there are certain can types, particularly the 473-millilitre can size, which has become quite popular and that can only be sourced from the United States,” he said.

Werner Antweiler, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, said in an email: “Reimposing aluminum tariffs on Canada would be another nightmare in the fraught trade relationship between our two countries. We had thought the issue was settled.”

He also noted, “Tariffs…will ultimately shift aluminium production to third countries. The Trump tariffs kill jobs; they don’t save jobs.”