TORONTO – USW National Director Marty Warren is voicing concern over the removal of Canadian retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on CUSMA-compliant goods.
The move seeks to match the U.S. rules and appears to have been made as a bargaining chip, but Warren raised serious doubts of its efficacy and expressed frustration with the worsening economic picture. This is in the context of the U.S. increasingly diluting CUSMA through an expanding list of sectors via the U.S. Section 232 tariffs, which include steel, aluminum, copper and forestry products, among others that are yet to come.
“Prime Minister Carney must meet the moment we are in,” said Warren. “The federal government must remain steadfast in working to not only safeguard and protect Canadian workers but aggressively build Canadian economic resiliency. Now is the time to be bold and develop a coherent industrial strategy for the Canadian economy and its workers.”
Warren called for an end to the broad reprieve announced in April on imports of U.S. steel coming into Canada from the United States, particularly on any product that has the possibility of being built here in Canada.
Warren also called on the federal government to articulate a clear industrial strategy that would bolster key sectors such as steel, aluminum, forestry, autos and other high-value industries to defend and create jobs that provide the stability of decent pay and a union. This long-overdue strategy must not only protect and build on our primary manufacturing capacity but also prioritize value-added manufacturing, the clean economy, and avoid further entrenching Canada as simply a supplier of natural resources sent to the U.S. for higher-value processing.
“Our federal government must keep our economic sovereignty at the centre of any and all decision-making when it comes to the renegotiation of CUSMA and in particular those sectors affected by Section 232 tariffs,” said Warren.
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.
Find more information on how the USW is fighting back against tariffs here.
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