Selkirk mayor says doubled aluminum, steel tariffs ‘too expensive’ to continue selling to States

Mayor Larry Johannson weighs in on Trump’s tariff hike and what it means for Selkirk’s steel industry and local economy.

The mayor of Selkirk believes newly beefed-up U.S. tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports will stop the city’s mill from trading with the southerly neighbour altogether.

“At 50 per cent, it’s just too expensive. It’s just too much,” Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson said Friday in an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, including Canada, hiking the imposed tax from 25 to 50 per cent.

Trump claims the increased tariffs are aimed at stopping foreign countries from offloading low-priced, excess steel and aluminum into the U.S. market.

The changes came into effect Wednesday.

Gerdau Ameristeel Manitoba is one of Selkirk’s largest employers, with roughly 550 residents working at the mill.

According to Johannson, the company could still sell to the United States under the previous 25 per cent tariff.

“At 25 per cent, we were still seeing a lot of semi-trailers loaded with steel coming out of our plants, heading to other projects, into the U.S. and across Canada, but 50 per cent is absolutely ludicrous.”

The move has forced the industry to seek out business across Canada, he said, bolstered by memorandums of understanding inked by Manitoba and other provinces to ease the flow of goods within the country.

“(Tariffs) are kind of forcing us to absolutely do that. These interprovincial trade barriers, they look like they are starting to connect, and they’re going to be coming down, which is a good thing,” he said.

“We’re looking at a lot of other projects.”

He also believes Americans are making their disapproval of the trade war known to their elected officials. The Selkirk mayor has spent time in the States as part of his mayoral duties and has heard firsthand how unpopular tariffs have become.

Overall, Johansson said he remains optimistic as a lot of negotiations are happening behind the scenes.

“There’s no room for failure here. We’re not shutting down. We’re not going to slow down. We have to make this work. We have to.”

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé, Lynn Chaya and Stephanie Ha