He should also put export tariffs on electricity to lower demand/price of PQ electricity (or subsidize their electricity from tariff proceeds) that is main cost of aluminum production. Buying a strategic reserve of Aluminum will keep factories open, and allow better deals/pricing for “allies” or new friends, or later dumping on US when they end the trade war.
Wonder if this will end up like Ford’s 25 percent surcharge on electricity? They should have coordinated on these things.
I think Ford’s export tariffs are still threatened retaliation. Politeness level from US increased yesterday after back down. If all tariffs are removed other than dairy on April 2, then its a win. Rhetoric backdown isn’t catastrophic if and only if the other side stops amplifying the extortion.
Hi, American here.
It’s not a win until the US removes all tariffs, including on dairy. His reason for that is bullshit too.
Dairy exports from Canada are very low. If Trump gets to boast that “he singlehandedly saved the US dairy industry” without any retaliation, then its a nothing burger where politics crying over the nothing burger will help distract from all of the other pillaging of America he plans.
Better to not coordinate. Trump comes up with new problems for Canada on a regular basis, only fair we do the same to him.
I feel like co-ordinating on these things would be better. BC, ON and QC all have steel and aluminium industries to defend, and all three provinces export a decent chunk of electricity to nearby US states.
A co-ordinated surcharge on electricity would be a powerful response to the inpatient at the white house.
There’s a fairly easy path to get full auto production in Canada at expense of US production.
Ultimatum/cooperation with auto manufacturers to publicly support the policy is needed. Cheap electricity and aluminum/steel in Canada and expensive in US, along with exchange rate and health care cost advantage means making cars here.
So subsidize energy and materials inputs in Canada, with revenue from high export tariffs on energy and materials to US. Coordinate same with Europe. US rearming Ukraine is not going to get Russian/Belarus imports, so do the same to agriculture with Potash export tariffs. We don’t need to put tariffs on US energy/materials inputs.
The ultimatum to auto manufacturers is threat of 200% tariffs (equivalent to ban) on US made cars if they don’t prioritize Canada operations. Partial tariffs on individual manufacturers if they close plants.
US policy in Trump 1.0 was to impose a cost of $900k per steelworker job on US economy. We also already have a currently high subsidy for auto workers and Canadian projects. It is not a significant loss if industry will automate anyway over time, and massive value enhancement is available from Chinese imports.
Maple syrup reserves. Aluminum