Trump slaps tariffs on Canadian raw aluminum

OTTAWA – U.S. President Donald Trump says he is reimposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum.

Trump says he signed a proclamation today that will put back in place the 10 per cent tariffs on raw aluminum imports from Canada.

He says “Canada was taking advantage of us, as usual.”

In a speech at a Whirlpool factory in the battleground state of Ohio, Trump touted his record of defending American workers by fighting China, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement and getting Canada to stop mistreating the U.S. dairy industry.

A subset of American metals companies have complained that Canadian aluminum has recently been dumped on the U.S. market.

Canadian aluminum-makers have said they switched production during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for higher-end products crashed, and the resulting aluminum has been sent to the United States primarily for storage.

The Aluminium Association of Canada said last week those exports fell 16 per cent in June and 40 per cent in July as the system was starting to rebalance.

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