The Canadian branch of the United Steelworkers union said in a press release today that the Canadian government “must acknowledge the crisis facing Canada's steel and aluminum industries and refuse to sign the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) unless American ‘national security’ tariffs are permanently repealed.”
The union criticized the Canadian government for losing the opportunity to cancel the tariffs during the USMCA negotiations. “We cannot afford to sell out our steel and aluminum workers again,” said USW National Director Ken Neumann.
Specifically, Neumann said the US decision to label Canada a national security threat was “ludicrous.” The union’s position was supported by a statement from federal New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh, who called on the Liberal government to refuse to sign the USMCA unless the US tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum are lifted. The NDP also called on the government to ensure there will be no US quotas on Canadian steel and aluminum before the USMCA is signed.
“Our members across the country have already felt the impact of these baseless US tariffs,” said Marty Warren, USW Ontario and Atlantic Canada Director, who joined Singh on Parliament Hill for the announcement.