Metal producers see relief in tariff dodge but grapple with unknowns

Mar. 9, 2018 – Canadian steel and aluminum producers have dodged U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariffs but continue to grapple with the uncertainty the debate has created.

Aluminium Association of Canada president Jean Simard says the indefinite exemption announced Thursday on the 10 per cent aluminum tariff is a reprieve, but that there’s still too many unknowns to attract any new investment.

Simard says he also worries about the fallout of the tariffs in the U.S., which will become the most expensive place to buy aluminum, and how that will hit the buyers of Canadian metal.

Canadian Steel Producers Association president Joseph Galimberti says there’s been uncertainty ever since Trump initiated the national security-based tariff investigation and there continues to be concerns over the fallout of the 25 per cent global tariff.

He says there’s some comfort in Canada being exempt, but that companies will need to be in close contact with customers as they adjust to the new reality of unpredictability.

Peter Warrian, a senior research fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, says the uncertainty could disrupt both short-term sales and long-term investments in an industry that seeks stability.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2018