Statement by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters regarding the lifting of tariffs on Canadian aluminum products

Ottawa, September 15, 2020 – Dennis Darby, President & CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), issued the following statement today in response to today’s announcement by the United States that it will lift the tariffs it had imposed on Canadian aluminum products:

“Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters welcomes the decision today by the United States to lift tariffs on Canadian aluminum products, and we thank the Canadian government for its sustained efforts to resolve this unnecessary and economically damaging issue.

“The Canadian and U.S. economies are so deeply integrated, and aluminum such an important element of so many manufactured goods, that the tariffs – and the counter-measures Canada would have been forced to implement – would have served only to drive up prices for consumers, and make our economic recovery more difficult.

“This is a good lesson on why responding in kind to protectionist action from trading partners is necessary; Canada’s threat of responding with counter tariffs worked. Fortunately, as a result of today’s news we are able to shift our full attention back to our social and economic recovery from COVID-19, which is the real priority for both of our countries.”