OTTAWA: Canada will act to prevent the smuggling of cheap steel and aluminum into the North American market to avoid new U.S. tariffs on the metals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on March 27.
Trudeau said this month he was aware of concerns that countries facing the tariffs could try to ship supplies through Canada and pretend the metals had been produced in Canadian facilities.
Under new measures unveiled by Trudeau’s office on March 27, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will gain new powers to stop companies that try to dodge duties.
The CBSA will also have greater flexibility in determining whether prices charged in the exporter’s domestic market are reliable or distorted.
“We will not allow North American industries to be hurt or threatened by unfair trade practices, like the diversion of steel and aluminum … Canada will not be used as a backdoor into other North American markets,” Trudeau said in a statement.
Canada will also coordinate more closely with its partners to strengthen border enforcement and meet more often with the United States and Mexico, its partners in the NAFTA trade pact, to discuss problems facing the steel and aluminum industries.
