US lifts tariffs on steel, aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico
Published:Saturday | May 18, 2019 | 9:49 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid a high-stakes trade dispute with rival China, the United States (US) took steps yesterday to ease tensions with two of its allies by lifting import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminium and delaying auto tariffs that would have hurt Japan and Europe.
By removing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico, US President Donald Trump cleared a major roadblock to a North American trade agreement that was negotiated last year.
Canada and Mexico have agreed to scrap retaliatory tariffs they had imposed on American goods.
“I’m pleased to announce that we’ve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico, and we’ll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs,” Trump said in a speech to the National Association of Realtors.
In a joint statement, the US and Canada said they would work to prevent cheap imports of steel and aluminium from entering North America.
Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, said the lifting of the tariffs “will bring immediate relief to American farmers and manufacturers.”
Critically, this action delivers a welcome burst of momentum for the USMCA in Congress,” said Donohue.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau credited his government for holding out to get the tariffs removed.
“We stayed strong,” he said.
“That’s what workers asked for. These tariffs didn’t make sense around national security. They were hurting Canadian consumers, Canadian workers and American consumers and American workers.”
The new trade deal, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, has to be approved by lawmakers in all three countries.
It’s reported that several key US lawmakers are threatening to reject the pact unless the tariffs are removed.
And Canada has suggested that it would not ratify any deal with tariffs still in place.
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