Canadian Branch of USW Tells Politicians Not to Ratify NAFTA Update
United Steelworkers Canadian Director Ken Neumann and Quebec Director Alain Croteau say that quotas on Canadian steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. are not acceptable, and that Canada's parliament should not ratify the new NAFTA until the tariffs on the metals are lifted. “The federal government, Prime Minister Trudeau himself, and all party leaders must be very clear with the Americans that this trade agreement will not be ratified until tariffs and quotas are removed from the equation,” Neumann and Croteau said in a joint statement March 22.
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Canada provides about 19 percent of U.S. steel imports, according to the International Trade Administration, and almost 54 percent of primary aluminum imports. The U.S. exports more steel to Canada than it imports from there. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland visited with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on March 25, and met with some members of Congress, as well, according to the Canadian embassy. Lighthizer has been trying to convince Mexico and Canada to accept metals quotas for months.