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ARTICLE · 17 AUGUST 2020

Canada Obliged To Retaliate Again To U.S. Tariffs On Aluminum

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On August 6, 2020, the United States announced import tariffs of 10 percent on imports of raw aluminum products from Canada, effective August 16, 2020.

GlobalInternational Law
Bennett Jones LLP
Bennett Jones LLP
Jessica Horwitz
Jessica Horwitz
Ethan Gordon
Ethan Gordon
Shari Gasch
Shari Gasch
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On August 6, 2020, the United States announced import tariffs of 10 percent on imports of raw aluminum products from Canada, effective August 16, 2020. The tariffs on unprocessed aluminum from Canada are to be assessed under American national security threat provisions contained in Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962. These tariffs represent a resumption of similar tariffs imposed on Canadian aluminum exports by the U.S. administration from June 1, 2018, to May 17, 2019. The announcement was made just over one month after the entry into force of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

The Government of Canada responded to the U.S. announcement the next day by announcing a "perfectly reciprocal" 10-percent surtax against imports of certain aluminum and aluminum-containing products from the U.S. of roughly equal value to that of affected Canadian exports—$$3.6 billion. The surtax will take effect on September 16, 2020, and will remain in place until

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