President Donald Trump says he’s doubling the tariff rate on steel to 50 per cent, a dramatic increase that could further push up prices for a metal used to make housing, autos and other goods. The announcement deals another blow to manufacturers in Ontario and Quebec, Canadian producers have already been fighting through the 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, with many dependent on exports to the U.S. Now, Trump says that’s not enough, “we were getting our steel from mexico. We were getting our steel from canada. We were getting our steel from every place but right here.” Trump made the announcement Friday at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, where he announced investments by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The president stated that a 50 per cent tariff will better protect American jobs from foreign competition. Canada shipped more than 7.6 billion dollars worth of steel to the states last year, and while the president’s message was aimed at American workers, his plan could further disrupt trade on both sides of the border — making it harder for Canadian steel to stay competitive. “That means that nobody’s going to be able to steal your industry. It’s at 25 per cent. They can sort of get over that fence. At 50 per cent, they can no longer get over the fence. I said ‘tariffs is my favorite word,’ and I got slaughtered by these people,” said Trump on Thursday. The price of steel products has increased roughly 16% since Trump became president in January, according to the government’s producer price index. Trump later added that both tariff hikes would go into effect Wednesday. The higher tariffs come amid a legal fight in the states, with a federal appeals court just this week allowing trump to keep collecting them for now, after a previous ruling found them illegal. - with files from The Associated Press
