Trudeau says U.S. steel tariffs on national security grounds are insulting

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it is “insulting” that U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada’s steel industry poses a national security risk to the EUA.

Speaking on NBC’s Sunday morning news show Meet the Press, Trudeau said he wants to make sure Americans, and more specifically Trump supporters, hear the message that they are going to feel financial strain and pain from the steel tariffs Trump imposed on Canada last week.

“The fact that the president has moved forward with these tariffs is not just going to hurt Canadian jobs, it’s going to hurt U.S. jobs as well and neither of those things is something Canada wants to see,” Trudeau said.

Trump imposed 25 per cent import duties on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum in early March, citing national security concerns about the impact those imported products were having on the American domestic industries. He exempted Canada, Mexico and the European Union pending additional talks to ease U.S. concerns.