United States Reaches Deal to Lift Metal Tariffs on Canada and Mexico

It is interesting that the US tariffs on Russian aluminum were cancelled in Jan 29, 2019 "Soft on Rusal, tough on Canada: https://business.financialpost.com/.../soft-on-rusal-tough-on-canada-pressure-mounts-on-...

trump lost. nafta 2.0 isn't a shoe in. thank goodness for freeland and morneau who won't capitulate to trump.

All of this could have been avoided in the first place if Canada stopped trans shipping Chinese steel into the US when asked too...

“The European Union treats us, I would say, worse than China. They’re just smaller,” (Trump) said. “They send Mercedes-Benzes in here like they are cookies.” So, when a Benz is driven on MAGA infrastructure, THAT is how the German super-cookie will crumble? Donald Trump is a non-stop complainer about being gypped. Yet, he's the one who sent $9.5B in direct cash payments to U.S. farmers from the $12B USDA aid package in 2018. Sonny Purdue estimates $15B to $20B in this year's aid package. Taxpayers pay these billions every year, but it's not nearly enough. The National Corn Growers Association claims trade disruptions cost their growers 44 cents per bushel. NCGA has an on-line campaign for all members to send MESSAGE TO THE PRESIDENT: "Mr. President, a penny (per bushel) didn't cut it then and won't cut it now." The red states are on fire; and the Complainer-in-Chief pretends to be a flamethrower FOR American farmers.

All the bluster and contortions by "the great deal maker" and what do you wind up with, the same deal but with a much more antagonized partners. I'm sure that when China tells "the great negotiator" to pound sand, the US farmers lose their farms, the auto industries close plants, and his sycophants stop buying stupid hats, he will cave and claim victory. Trump is a menace to our welfare, economy, health and pride. All this winning is making me sick. Trump steals your dignity like the devil consumes your soul.

This is a good start for the Americans to acknowledge the discomfort their behaviour as occur on us,your devoted neighbours from up north.

Recognizing the terrible damage Trump has done to our relationships with our former trading partners & American farmers, Trump is trying to backtrack & cover his humongous mistakes. It's painfully obvious he has no idea how to manage America nor even his real estate businesses as evidenced by the billion in losses. Farming is a high tech science but it doesn't end there. Farmers need to understand options and price points. For Trump to step in and erratically change the policies of the entire trading world is simply hubris. I strongly urge my two senators, Grassley and Ernst, to support impeachment lest they get voted out too. 18 months more of Trump is 18 months too long.

What? No mention of lifting tariffs on Australia and New Zealand metal imports and you call us allies. Actions speak louder than words. At the end of the day NZ has bills to pay and exports do that, so don't expect our governments to move from the side lines so they can poach our export market so some USA fat cat or politician can buy a thousand dollar bottle of wine or build a mega million dollar aluminium boat.

"metals that are unfairly subsidized or sold at below-market prices" I'd like to see more reporting and understanding of the truths behind these catchphrases abused by politics. First, the US has been doing things with China and elsewhere that affect the value of the US dollar. That means that Canadian prices "change" in the US even if the Canadians charge exactly the same price in Canadian dollars. So what is a "fair" price? The Canadians didn't change it but the Americans pay more or less anyway. The Canadians have done nothing to make the US dollar unstable. Second, what is a subsidy? Canadians have national health care, so their steel manufacturers and/or workers don't pay for health insurance, and therefore their work comp insurance is much less expensive too. Their overhead is less, by a lot, as much as 20% per worker. Is that a subsidy? Can we get it in the US, please? Third, what is a market price in steel? The stuff is made in large quantities all over the world, and every country has different cost structures and internal changes. It is a world market. The Canadians live in it with us, and neither of us controls it. China makes half the world's supply. The US makes less than 5%. Canada makes less than 1%. Neither one is shifting the market. Neither one is shifting its own prices much. The market shifts from things happening elsewhere. The conversation is fundamentally disconnected from facts.

Wait a minute? Were Canada and Mexico ever national security threats? Tariffs go in for no reason and now they’re coming off. Was anything received for lifting the tariffs? This is the art of the deal? The only thing that happened is that Americans paid higher prices for some items and farmers couldn’t sell their products. Business suffered. We lost. Everyone lost. Now China sees that it can wait. China can buy what it needs elsewhere. More losing. The president should resign.

Considering all that Trump and his minions have done to insult and punish Canada, the best I can say about the removal of the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum is, "It's about time". Kudlow, Navarro and Miller are not welcome in Canada and should seriously just never come here. Maybe once America's Trump experiment is over and we return to normal relations across the 49th parallel, we can work to also restore a continental economy. The U.S. cannot and should not "go it alone". It's a shame Trump didn't take full advantage of every opportunity to strengthen and enrich business and trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico. I guess it takes an actual President for that to happen, not a fake one like him.

Trade negotiations with Trump are like his casino businesses. Although the house always wins, you invest those profits into what the house always loses at and assume that your losses can be picked up by the American taxpayer as a write-off.

My boycott of American products is still going strong. One company that I know is taking a beating is Heinz ketchup, which is easily exchanged for a Canadian product. Heinz is paying for massive displays at local grocery chain stores which makes me smile. I will never ever buy a Heinz product until Trump and his Republican supplicants are swept from office. I have had numerous conversations with friends who are also boycotting American products wherever possible. I am also boycotting the United States by not visiting or vactioning there and encouraging others to do the same. We have been America's best friend for many decades -remember the Canadian rescue of US diplomats at their embassy in Tehran? There is nothing more galling than being stabbed in the back by your supposed best friend. I still like the American people, but I am losing faith in their political judgment and apparent lack of human decency.

If Congress is going to amend anything, they should find a name we can all agree on. Trump wants to call it USMCA. Up here national trade acronyms have to start with C, so we'll legislate it as CUSMA, and I suppose for the same reason Mexico will refer to it domestically as MUSCA, maybe. NAFTA was universal because it didn't specify countries by name, referring simply to the region. Other than that, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if Congress legislated higher wages and regulated safety and other work conditions for American workers to bring them up to our standards so we could be more competitive. It's be nice to see the end of these offensive and ridiculous tariffs, though. I hope we get this fixed up so my wife and I can start vacationing in the States again.

All these trade deals hurt US citizens. We might get slightly lower prices but that doesn't matter much if you have no job. Why have them? Because they help the wealthy.

What about the tariffs on Canadian lumber and forest products? Those were nothing more than a gift to American producers, who increased prices (and profits) on the back of American consumers. Come to think of it, that's the way all tariffs work!

You mean he hasn’t insulted Mr. Trudeau today? Give him time.

So they have agreed on some way to keep metal prices higher to protect American producers: as long as Canada and Mexico don't engage in price competition with high cost U.S. producers and as long as they don't sell too much product then we will drop the tariffs. The end result should be that consumers will continue to pay higher prices but some metal production will be reserved for high cost American producers and foreign producers will make higher profits on sales to American users and the national security threat goes away and America is great once again.

Canadians know why these tariffs were imposed on our steel and aluminum imports (considered a security threat), and we will not soon forget Trump's shabby treatment. Trudeau stood up in Charlevoix, Quebec after the G7 last year and told Trump that “Canadians won't be pushed around” and he was right, we won't be bullied by your president. If he thinks we are going to thank him for lifting these tariffs, he will be waiting a long time.

Finally. However, the damage done by Trump to the relationship with Canada, not to mention its economy, will not be quickly forgotten. No president has done more to harm North American unity since "54-40 or fight!"

So, I suppose the concern for "national security", a justification Trump used for the tariffs were just, well, another of his lies, along with the bleating the tariffs would increase metal production in this country? Trump must believe all of us are foolish enough to believe those tariffs were as he claimed. But, I suppose when the farmers are doing a Trump, that is, going bankrupt, perhaps intelligent heads prevailed in having those Trump taxes removed.

Please please please congress - sign the new NAFTA deal as soon as possible! We need closer economic ties with Canada and Mexico and although the deal is not perfect, it's MUCH better than the old NAFTA it replaces.

So things should go back to normal after a year of Trump antagonizing, threatening and alienating our two greatest trading partners in our own hemisphere? I forget the politician's name but his quote could carry over to our entire nation. "Where does America go to get it's reputation back?".