Canada and United States Agree to Remove Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

In a joint statement on May 17, Canada and the United States announced they have reached an agreement to lift tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum products in 2018.

Effective May 19, 2019, the agreement applies to the tariffs imposed by the United States in June 2018 under Section 232, as well as Canada’s retaliatory tariffs.

The agreement also includes provisions to:

• Establish a process for monitoring surges in trade in the metals markets;
• Prevent transshipment of steel and aluminum made outside of Canada or the United States to the other country; and
• Prevent the importation of metals that are unfairly subsidized and/or sold at dumped prices.

Background

On May 31, 2018, the US announced it would impose tariffs on certain steel and aluminum imports from Canada. As a result, Canada imposed surtaxes and similar trade-restrictive countermeasures for selected products originating out of the U.S. The additional 25% or 10% countermeasures came into effect on July 1, 2018.