United States Gets Rid Of Tariffs On Canadian Aluminum

On Tuesday, September 15, the United States announced that it would get rid of tariffs on imports of non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum from Canada, retroactive to September 1, 2020. As Connecting the Dotsreported at the time, the United States announced reinstatement of these tariffs in early August; they took effect on August 16.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration said it held consultations with the Canadian government and now expects aluminum imports to decline in coming months after surging earlier in the year. The 10 percent tariffs won’t go back into effect as long as aluminum imports decline as expected.

In a statement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative explained that, for each of the remaining months of 2020, it will examine Canadian exports and “if actual shipments exceeded 105 percent of the expected volume for any month during the four-month period, then the United States will impose the 10 percent tariff retroactively on all shipments made in that month.”

Additionally:

• If shipments in any month exceed the expected volume, the United States expects that shipments in the next month will decline by a corresponding amount.
• If imports exceed 105 percent of the expected volume in any month, the United States may re-impose the 10 percent tariff going forward.

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland welcomed the decision, but warned that, “in terms of what happens going forward, we have been clear to USTR: Were tariffs to be imposed in the future on aluminum, we will reciprocate with dollar-for-dollar retaliation.”