Even if the U.S. drops its tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, it will be a long road to recovery for the industry.
Essex MP Tracey Ramsey reacted to comments made by Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David McNaughton Thursday that Washington will likely end its tariffs in the next few weeks.
McNaughton made his comments in Niagara-on-the-Lake where he was speaking on a panel before a crowd of business leaders, along with the American Ambassador to Canada, Kelly Kraft. Kraft was less committal and said that her government continues to review the tariffs.
Essex MP, Tracey Ramsey August 25, 2015. (Photo by Adelle Loiselle)
Ramsey told BlackburnNews.com it would be great news, but the steel and aluminum industries have suffered a lot since the tariffs were imposed, and coming back will not be easy.
"There's some after-care that has to happen here. It's not that the tariffs will be lifted and everyone will say, 'oh, okay, let's get back to the way we were,'" she said. "Businesses will be very negatively impacted, and it's going to take them at least another nine months if not longer than that to rebuild."
Since the imposition of the tariffs, Ramsey, who is the chair of the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on International Trade, has been lobbying the Trudeau government to create a national tariff taskforce.
Her party, the New Democrats, also urged the Trudeau government not to sign the new United-States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement unless the U.S. lifted the tariffs, a call the federal government did not heed.
Even if the tariffs are lifted soon, she believes the task force will be needed.
"When we're in a crisis situation, it requires everyone to come to the table to look for solutions," she said. "It can't just be the government of the day that continues to say 'don't worry, we're taking care of it.' -- I still believe, even at this critical point, nine months later, it's not too late. Let's get this group of people together. Let's look at solutions and let's be prepared on how we go forward."
There is no tally on the number of jobs lost in the steel and aluminum industries. Ramsey said many companies are trying to lessen the impact on their workforces.
"We do certainly have people that are doing layoffs. They're doing indefinite layoffs, and then there are others who are hoping people will be able to come back," Ramsey said. "Some people are doing some job sharing accommodation."
It is estimated that the federal government has collected $1-billion in reciprocal tariffs on U.S. products. Ottawa said that money would be used to get the industry through the hard times, but Ramsey said that flow has been a trickle.
She also said she thinks that money can be used to get Canadian steel and aluminum back on its feet.
