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Canadian steel not a national security threat on its own: US commerce secretary

OTTAWA — The U.S. commerce secretary says Canada is not a national security threat and that a revitalized NAFTA could make the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum go away.
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OTTAWA — The U.S. commerce secretary says Canada is not a national security threat and that a revitalized NAFTA could make the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum go away.

Wilbur Ross also acknowledges that the U.S. doesn’t have a trade deficit on steel with Canada — and, in fact, has a surplus with its northern neighbour in terms of dollar value.

Under grilling today by Republicans and Democrats in Washington, Ross has heard concerns that looming retaliatory tariffs by allies, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union, would kill American jobs and drive up prices for consumers.

Ross also links the steel and aluminum tariffs to the ongoing renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

He made the remarks to a U.S. Senate committee examining tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on some of his country’s closest partners, based on the premise they are threats to American national security and citing the controversial section 232 of U.S. trade law.

Asked why the Canadian steel industry poses a national security threat, Ross replied that Canada, on its own, doesn’t represent a threat.

He said the tariffs are designed to persuade allies to reduce the amount of Chinese steel that passes through their countries and then floods into the U.S.

Ross also said the imposition of the tariffs is linked to the NAFTA talks.

“We had initially exempted Canada and Mexico from the (national security category) pending negotiations of NAFTA overall,” Ross said of the three-country talks that recently stalled.

“Unfortunately, those talks were not able to come to a conclusion …

“Our objective is to have a revitalized NAFTA, a NAFTA that helps America and, as part of that, the 232s would logically go away both as it relates to Canada and as to Mexico.”

Ross added that U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer is optimistic that NAFTA talks “could pick up steam” after Mexico’s July 1 presidential election.