Posted on 05/17/2019 1:01:14 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
(CNN)President Donald Trump lifted steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Friday, a move designed to ease one area of tensions even as the President's wider trade agenda faces an uncertain future.
A joint statement from the US and Canadian governments said the tariffs would be lifted in two days, and added the two sides had agreed on monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to prevent steel dumping that might affect prices.
The step clears a key hurdle for ratification of Trump's replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, though final passage of that pact remains uncertain as US Democrats voice concern about labor and environmental provisions contained in the deal. Officials from Canada and Mexico had been adamant that they would not ratify the new US-Canada-Mexico Agreement, signed by leaders of all three countries late last year, until the metal tariffs were removed. The tariffs, which were imposed last year on national security grounds, have been a source of consternation on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers from both parties calling on Trump to lift them.
The move is expected to avert retaliatory tariffs Canada and Mexico had been considering to pressure Trump on the issue.
The White House move comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out to Trump by phone three times in less than a week.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland met with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington to try and hammer out the details.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I want the tariffs, not Neo-NAFTA.
Will China try to bring in its steel through Mexico?
To CNN nothing President Trump does is good. They are against the tariffs and they are against removing the tariffs. The results are “uncertain”, as if certainty were a requirement for anything in life.
Me too. Just restore the tariffs and make them permanent.
China has a habit of sending aluminum through these countries.
hope that practice has been addressed..
Smart move - very important to keep on good terms with our neighbors!
I know this was the big bone of contention for Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
The problem with Canadian steel is that much of it is simply transshipments from China.
No you don't, tariffs only put money in the pockets of the government at the expense of the manufacturers/exporters.........
There's no difference between tariffs and minimum wage. Any increases are nothing but taxes on the consumer.........
Tariffs built America, Neoliberalism destroyed the country so that Walmart and Amazon could cannibalize Main Street. I don’t want to live in a world where the average American had to compete against 7 billion people in the perpetual race to the bottom and accept lower and lower living standards.
Neoliberalism was a gigantic lie and the past 25 years have proven it to be so.
Since they are mainly used as raw materials and not finished products, the "consumer" in the U.S. is almost always a manufacturer, not an end user. So all the tariff has done is drive up the cost of these raw materials for U.S. manufacturers -- many of whom EXPORT a lot of their products.
They better at least make sure it is not “relabeled” or dumped Chinese steel. Better to leave the tariffs in place to be sure.
Tariffs were the only source of income for this country until the government decided to tax businesses and personal incomes.............
Just like business and personal income taxes, Tariffs have become nothing but a burden on the producers of this country which has required foreign exporters to respond in kind.............
Oh really? Who ultimately pays for the increase in steel to the auto industry? You think that Ford just absorbs the added cost to their product as a good will gesture to their customers?
Imposing tariffs on raw materials without having any tariffs on finished products makes the U.S. manufacturer less competitive in a global market. Ford is a perfect example. Imposing a tariff on Canadian steel gives the company a big incentive to avoid the tariff by simply producing cars in Canada instead of the U.S. The raw steel has a tariff on it, while the steel in the car does not.
Do you honestly believe Industrializiation would have ever kicked off with free trade in the 19th Century when the British could have flooded the American market like they did Europe with their textiles and other products?
I highly doubt it. The American School put American Industry first. Neoliberalism puts dividends first.
I believe I read elsewhere that that is addressed in the agreement.
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