Canada and Mexico this week are again pressing the Trump administration to remove steel and aluminum tariffs. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer earlier this week and threatened to withhold ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement if the duties remain in place, according to Politico.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and others have previously said that if the tariffs remain in place following the implementation of the USMCA, the tariffs would offset any gains reached in the agreement. Specifically, Freeland of Canada is urging the administration to lift the tariffs without replacing them with a quota, telling reporters “Canadians feel the right thing is there should be no 232 tariffs or retaliatory measures between our two countries.”
A trade official from Mexico echoed the comments, saying “what industry in North America needs is the elimination of this tariff.”