Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was talking trade in the Queen City on Friday.
While visiting the SeedMaster facility in Emerald Park, Freeland took the time to talk about Canada’s stance on U.S. tariffs impacting steel and aluminum.
“Frankly, it’s just absurd and that is why Canada immediately announced that we would impose retaliatory tariffs,” she said.
According to Freeland, the tariffs are imposed under a national security justification. The U.S. is arguing Canadian exports of steel and aluminum are somehow a national security threat to the United States.
Ottawa believes it’s an illegal use of the national security provision. Freeland says the government is trying to get rid of the extra costs, adding trade in steel and steel products between Canada and the U.S. is balanced. The U.S. has a slight surplus over Canada.
With the new USMCA trade agreement, Freeland says it makes sense to get rid of the tariffs.
“Let’s just drop these tariffs on both sides,” she said. “It’s not good for Canada, it’s not good for the United States.”
Freeland says she’s hearing from some U.S. groups that they agree it’s time to drop the tariffs.
The minister says the federal government is working to eliminate the tariffs, but there is no timeline on when or if that might happen.
