CANADA/CHINA/COMMERCE/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WTO: “China is the main target of possible tough new United States trade measures against low-priced imports of steel and aluminum. But the sanctions threaten to ensnare America’s closest allies, particularly Canada.
Earlier this month, the Commerce Department declared the steel and aluminum imports a national security threat, and President Trump must decide by mid-April whether to impose sanctions, including quotas and tariffs.
But all of the options presented by the Commerce Department would affect Canada, a longtime supplier of metals to the American military and industry. Imports from Britain, Australia, South Korea and other countries could also be hit.
President Trump could choose to accept one of the Commerce Department’s recommendations or fashion his own remedy. Either way, the issue highlights the difficulty the Trump administration faces as it seeks to limit imports in a world where companies routinely make, ship and sell products across borders.
The potential trade action is further straining already-tense relations between the United States and Canada, two of the world’s most integrated economies. The countries have clashed over the North American Free Trade Agreement, American tariffs on Canadian lumber, and Canada’s recent complaint to the World Trade Organization about American trade practices.”
-Ana Swanson, “Trump Trade Sanctions Aimed at China Could Ensnare Canada,” The New York Times online, Feb. 25, 2018