Steel Tariffs Remain Challenge Among North American Trading Partners

October 23, 2018 farmequip

Steel tariffs remain an issue among North American trading partners.

The Canadian government balked last week when the U.S. sought participation for a ceremonial signing of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Mexico also resisted.

The two countries were exempt from the steel tariffs that President Trump imposed in March, but that changed in June when Trump sought to apply pressure during talks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, now known as USMCA.

His decision prompted retaliatory tariffs from Mexico and Canada and frayed the countries' relationships.

The signing would have been purely symbolic. The countries cannot formally sign the agreement before November 30, then it has to clear a series of hurdles in each country's legislature.

Discussions about the tariffs continue. As it stands, the U.S. wants Canada and Mexico to accept quotas for steel and aluminum in lieu of tariffs, similar to agreements with Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea.

In related news, the Canadian government announced it will impose a 25 percent surtax on some foreign steel products in a bid to head off dumping. The surtax begins Thursday and will be in place for 200 days, pending an inquiry by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal into whether longer−lasting safeguards are necessary, the government said.

The U.S. is exempt from the surtax. Mexico is partially exempt. The country is seeking total exemption and has suggested it may retaliate with tariffs.

Source: The Canadian Press, Business Insider

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