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U.S. drops tariffs on Canadian aluminum ahead of countermeasure announcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEWS 1130) – The U.S. dropped its tariffs on Canadian aluminum, just hours before the Trudeau government was expected to unveil retaliatory measures against American products.

The U.S. reimposed a 10 per cent national-security tariff on Canadian aluminum last month after complaints from two American smelting operations that Canada was violating the terms of a 2019 agreement between the two countries.

President Donald Trump took similar action during NAFTA negotiations, but those tariffs were lifted when a trade deal — the USMCA — was reached.

Canada has denied any concern to national security, and had been trying to end the ongoing dispute through talks. Despite the foreign affairs minister saying on Monday that Ottawa was still trying to cool discussions through dialogue, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday that it was time for action.

“To counter the unjust tariffs put on Canadian aluminum by the United States. As I’ve said many times, we will always be there to defend Canadian workers,” he said on his way into a two-day cabinet retreat. “We will defend our aluminum sector.”

It wasn’t clear exactly what products Canada’s retaliatory tariffs would have covered. Possible goods included golf clubs, bicycles, beer and pop cans, as well as appliances.

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