Alarm bells started ringing months ago at National Defence over the notion that the U.S. Commerce Department might impose import duties. President Trump announced a major new 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and a 10 per cent duty on aluminum. "As a key NORAD and NATO ally, and as the number one customer of American steel, Canada would view any trade restrictions on Canadian steel and aluminum as absolutely unacceptable," Freeland said in a statement. In its submission to the U.S. Commerce Department last spring, Canadian trade officials underlined how highly integrated the American and Canadian steel and aluminum markets have become. "The U.S. sells more iron and steel to Canada than it buys — more than $2.1 billion," said the submission.

Source: CBC News March 01, 2018 23:47 UTC