Trump Backs Off

[JackRT]

And that 10% tariff is paid by the American purchaser and is pocketed by the American government. The extra cost to the purchaser is passed on downstream to the American consumer. It seems that what has been happening over the covid-19 crisis of the last several months is that as American industry shut down ingots of raw Canadian aluminum went unsold and was placed in storage in the USA. It was not dumped at a cut rate price --- it was simply unsold. Canada has a large and efficient aluminum industry due mainly to the availability of low cost hydro-electric power. Some of our plants produce more Al than all the higher cost US plants combined. We are your main supplier of Al and these tariffs mainly hurt American industry and American consumers. Canada is planning to institute dollar for dollar retaliatory tariffs in 30 days. The new Canada-Mexico-USA free trade agreement was just inked a couple of weeks ago. It lasted just about as long as some of the treaties signed with Indian nations in the 19th century. Considering that the US and Canadian economies are completely integrated this act of President Trump is ill thought out and rather petty as well as dubiously legal under the agreement. I can only conclude that it is an act of desperation on Trump's part to make him look good in the coming election. Thinking people regard it as what it is.