June 24, 2020

U.S. Plans to Impose Tariffs on Aluminum Imports from Canada

The United States is planning to re-impose tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada, Bloomberg reported late on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

If Canada declines to impose export restrictions, the United States will announce on Friday the re-imposition of 10 per cent tariffs on aluminum from the country, the report said.

The tariffs would then be implemented by July 1, the report said, which is also when the new CUSMA agreement will take effect. Some industries, including automakers, had been asking for a delayed implementation of the agreement due to the difficulties they are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a challenge to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported steel brought by an industry group that had argued that a key part of the law under which he imposed the duties violates the U.S. Constitution.

Trump signed a proclamation this year increasing tariffs on derivative steel products by an additional 25 per cent and on derivative aluminum products by an additional 10 per cent, from which countries including Canada and Mexico were exempted. 

(Source: CBC)