September 15, 2020

TORONTO—Canada’s aluminum workers welcomed the removal of unfair U.S. tariffs and credit the federal government’s strong response for today’s win.

“This dispute was no doubt resolved thanks to the stance taken by Justin Trudeau’s government and the efforts led by Chrystia Freeland and Mary Ng,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “It was the impending countermeasures that helped U.S. trade representatives realize that Canada was not going to take this lying down.”

On August 16 the U.S. imposed tariffs on Canada’s exports of P1020 aluminum. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland responded by releasing an initial proposal of countermeasures and consulted with Canadian industry experts and Unifor.

“Workers on both sides of the border would lose in an aluminum trade war,” said Dias. “Canada has done nothing wrong to warrant aluminum tariffs. We welcome the resumption of normal trade relations.”

Unifor has repeatedly warned that tariffs on Canadian aluminum exports are an unfair attempt to help a handful of struggling U.S. producers and that tariffs cause harm to the wider American economy.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.