Trump Tariffs Cost Canadian Jobs As Tenaris Steel Begins Layoffs – Canada’s Retaliatory Tariffs Begin Today
A metals manufacturing company has announced it will be laying off over three dozen Canadian workers at their Sault Ste. Marie plant as Tenaris SA moves forward with protective actions to shield itself from market uncertainty according to Global News. A spokesman for Tenaris SA, primarily acting as manufacturers of seamless steel pipes in terms of their operations in Ontario, says 40 workers at the company’s mill will be laid off today as a result of changes in the export market.
David Hattie spoke to the matter, relating that these workers had been hired earlier in the year to help with an increased demand for the manufacturer’s products, in particular, their steel pipes.
“The implementation of a tariff has created an unsustainable market to serve our U.S. customers,” McHattie said according to Reuters, adding the employees were hired in January to meet a new demand for Tenaris products.
A few short months later, President Trump signaled that he would be imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports to the United States, deeply wounding the Canadian manufacturing sector that relies heavily on metal exports to their neighbor to the south.
Canadian leadership under the auspices of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau struck back on the matter, promising dollar per dollar tariff matching against those enacted by President Trump, the CBC writes. Reuters reports that the retaliatory tariffs, totaling approximately $12.6 billion USD, have been enacted as of today, the Canada Day holiday.
Prime Minister Trudeau and his Liberal Party of Canada cohort governing the country have made it clear that they do not plan to wilt in the face of tariffs and economic threats from the Trump administration, with the CBC reporting that Trudeau reached out to President Trump just two days ago to express his regrets that he “had no choice” but to enact retaliatory tariffs in response to those put forth by the American leadership.
Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Chyrstia Freeland went on the record to say that the “measured, perfectly reciprocal” moves are matching those made by their international economic partners such as Mexico and the European Union.
“We will not escalate, and we will not back down. It is a reciprocal action… It is a dollar-for-dollar response… we are perfectly within our rights to respond.”
Canada retaliatory tariffs on US goods come into force https://t.co/zQoAASc5gC
— BBC World Business (@BBCWorldBiz) July 1, 2018
The Canadian tariffs against the United States enacted today include 235 distinct products according to The Star: maple syrup, ketchup, pizza, whiskey, and even toilet paper. Canada’s federal government has also pledged around $2 billion to help alleviate some of the economic stress that the trade tariffs between the two countries may induce on Canadian businesses.
If you're looking for a small act of patriotism during a Canada Day cottage weekend on the eve of a trade war with the U.S., go ahead and buy a scoop of Kawartha Dairy—it's Canadian, and it's delicious. https://t.co/YboRExCZ7s
— Maclean’s Magazine (@macleans) June 29, 2018
Tenaris SA has holdings worldwide and has stated that the market will continue to remain uncertain as trade pressures and potential trade wars escalate across the globe.
