TORONTO – United Steelworkers union (USW) Canadian National Director Marty Warren issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s announcement of new 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products:
“President Trump has once again chosen confrontation over co-operation, directly threatening the livelihood of Canadian workers, and the future of industries and communities directly with another sweeping round of tariffs on Canadian products.
The USW is particularly concerned with the Trump administration’s targeting of Canadian forest and wood products in this latest round of tariffs. Canadian forestry workers and producers are already under immense pressure because of illegal U.S. section 232 tariffs and unreasonable anti-dumping duties.
These measures have nothing to do with fair trade and everything to do with leverage. They are another attempt to use economic coercion to force Canada into concessions that serve the interests of the United States.
When countries negotiate and sign an agreement such as CUSMA, each party should be expected to respect and honour its commitments. Reaching back to legislation from the 1930s and other measures deemed illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court to sidestep the agreement is both disappointing and shameful. It undermines confidence in the United States as a reliable trading partner and does not bode well for any future agreement.
The federal government should continue to negotiate, but we cannot be bullied into accepting a deal that sacrifices Canadian jobs, industries or our ability to make decisions in our own national interest. No deal is better than a bad deal.
This latest escalation is further proof that Canada can no longer assume reliable access to the U.S. market or build its economic strategy around decisions made in Washington.
Canada must draw the right lesson from this latest attack and respond accordingly. We need to build domestic resilience – that is the key to long term independence. We must invest in our own industrial capacity, produce more of what we need domestically and use public spending to create Canadian jobs and strengthen Canadian supply chains.
Canada must double down on diversifying our economy and trade relationships, building stronger ties with reliable partners and opening new markets for Canadian products. Diversification will take time, but it is essential to reducing our vulnerability to future threats and securing good Canadian jobs for the long term.
That means moving forward with strategic investments in steel, aluminum, forestry, manufacturing, and other critical industries. It means building major infrastructure, housing, transportation, energy and defence projects with Canadian materials and Canadian workers.
At Algoma Steel, for example, a new structural beam mill could support good union jobs, strengthen domestic steelmaking, reduce import dependence and provide Canadian-made products for major defence and infrastructure projects. That is exactly the kind of productive strategic investment Canada should be pursuing.
Ottawa must also put comprehensive supports in place for workers and communities affected by tariffs, layoffs and reduced production, while ensuring that any public assistance to companies protects jobs and maintains operations in Canada.
At the same time, Canada must strengthen its trade defences to prevent products displaced from the U.S. market from being dumped into Canada and causing even greater damage to domestic producers.
The United States has made it clear that it will continue to use access to its market as leverage. Canada must stand firm today while building the industrial strength and economic independence needed for the future.”
About the United Steelworkers union
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of the union’s strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.
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