A who’s who of the U.S. labor movement has gone to bat for Canada on Trump administration tariffs, urging U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to help them avoid levies on steel and aluminum.
In a letter dated Oct. 25 sent as members of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office’s official Labor Advisory Committee, the unions argued that letting the tariffs stand would disrupt the supply chain utilized by the auto industry.
The letter was signed by United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, chairman of the committee. Others on the committee include the heads of the AFL-CIO, the Teamsters, and the Service Employees International Union, among other top unions.
“The LAC notes with disappointment that despite the inclusion of Canada in the (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade) it continues to face steel and aluminum tariffs,” said Gerard.
Aiding Canada and Mexico “can only improve the prospects for our already highly integrated auto supply chain,” he said.
Most unions were circumspect in discussing the USMCA deal at the time that it was announced, claiming that they needed more time to examine the details.
“We reiterate that while there are positive provisions in the renegotiated NAFTA, there are also provisions in the agreement which undermine the interests of workers and consumers,” the letter says.
They particularly argue that the provisions requiring $16 an hour wages in Mexican factories need to be even stronger to be effective at returning manufacturing to the U.S. They argued that the wage level is too low and badly designed to be effective.
The Trump administration initially granted Canada and Mexico exemptions to its 25 percent tariff for steel imports and 10 percent for aluminum ones, but removed them in June as part of an effort to pressure the countries during the USMCA talks. The countries have argued that since those talks are now complete there is no need to maintain the tariffs. The Trump administration has so far balked at restoring the exemptions, fearing that that would allow China, the tariffs’ main target, to harm the U.S. steel industry.
Business groups have been pressuring the administration to retire the exemptions as well, saying they’re being hurt by retaliatory tariffs.
Though the unions’ letter was sent to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, the steel and aluminum tariffs were officially imposed by the Commerce Department. A spokeswoman for the trade representative’s office could not be reached. A Commerce Department spokesman directed comments to the trade representative’s office.
