Free trade deals are typically all about removing trade barriers. The Canadian and Mexican negotiators, business leaders and members of Congress expected the 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum to be lifted once the new agreement was signed, but they remain.
The United States might have a new North American trade deal in place, but the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum continue to be a headache for businesses, lawmakers and America’s neighbors.
Despite expectations to the contrary, the 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent duties on aluminum are staying put for now. They remain such a big point of contention that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took aim at the tariffs Friday during a signing ceremony for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Trudeau tied the tariffs to the layoff plans at General Motors announced earlier this week to the chagrin of leaders and workers in the U. S. and Canada. “Donald, it’s all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our countries,” the Canadian prime minister told U. S. President Donald Trump, who was standing directly to his right.
The tariffs were first put into place on March 23 under the Commerce Department’s rarely used national security authority, known as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
