The governors of three New England states that border Canada have called on President Donald Trump to reverse American tariffs on Canadian aluminum.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott assert the reimposition of a 10 percent tariff on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from the U.S.’s northern neighbor is detrimental to manufacturers and supply chain businesses in northern New England, a news release said.
The governors wrote Trump saying their region maintains a long-standing bilateral trade relationship with Canada that is bolstered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or the USMCA.
“These tariffs are unnecessary and inappropriate to which there will be negative consequences, one of which is the artificial inflation of costs to aluminum goods to consumers and suppliers,” the letter dated Sept. 8 said. “New England depends on bi-lateral trade with Canada. We were pleased when the USMCA trade agreement was ratified this summer because our states rely on the uninterrupted transactional business for many of our business and high growth sectors. The trade relations and subsequent economic benefits are sorely needed in these trying times.”
Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine companies conduct half of their overall trade activity with Canada, the release said.
Mills, a Democrat, and Sununu and Scott, both Republicans, argue the tariff will drastically raise costs and decrease competitiveness for aluminum-consuming industries in New England, as well as disrupt manufacturing and technical production supply chains. The leaders fear consumers will take on the artificially inflated costs at the worst time possible.
“The tariffs will make products from an F-35 jet to a washing machine to a can of beer more expensive, thus making the value chain weaker and negatively impacting our economy,” they wrote. “It is time to look at solutions to elevate commerce on both sides of the border and not penalize key industries.”
