How many more rounds of tariffs must Canada endure before the Liberals take trade seriously?

Back in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in front of the entire world: “Canada is back, and here to help.” More than two years later, the question I continue to ask is: “help who?” The Liberal government has promised to move Canada towards progressive and effective trade relationships; yet, Canadian industries have been taking hit after hit of imposed duties and tariffs. The Liberals’ track record on trade has been marred by a lack of transparency, lack of due diligence, and a collection of diplomatic blunders. Many important Canadian industries have not seen a glimpse of the promised “sunny ways.” Vitally important Canadian industries have been the target of Donald Trump’s administration in the United States, which imposed tariffs on the softwood lumber industry in 2017. This industry contributed $22-billion in GDP growth in 2016, and employs more than 200,000 workers, 9,500 of whom are from Indigenous communities. Around the same time, Bombardier was hit with a 219 per cent duty, highly affecting Canada’s aerospace industry, an industry that also employs around 200,000 Canadians and that contributes about $28-billion to the country’s GDP. Just this past week, President Trump released a plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum, a $14-billion industry in Canada. Our steel industry directly employs 22,000 Canadians, and indirectly employs 100,000 with good middle-class jobs. That is an estimated $64-billion and half a million Canadians directly affected by recently imposed tariffs and duties. There are many continued assurances from the prime minister, but Canada has yet to make any real progressive steps forward in critical NAFTA re-negotiations. It is not just the United States with which the prime minister has failed to make positive change. Despite his highly publicized trip to India, the Indian government raised import tariffs on chickpeas to 60 per cent. To India alone, our exports of pulses, the family of legumes to which chickpeas belong, was a $1.1-billion industry in 2016. The Liberal government has also been guilty of a lack of transparency in trade negotiations, especially surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Liberals released the new text only two weeks before the official signing, and the many side letters relating to the protection of our culture and automotive sector will not be released until after the signing. Despite promises to be open, this deal was made behind closed doors, and remains highly problematic. It also falls far short of any progressive elements as it does not contain a gender chapter or an Indigenous chapter, and experts have pointed out that Canada would lose 58,000 jobs due to TPP concessions. When it comes to the projected economic impact of this deal, projections show a negligible 0.082 per cent increase in Canadian GDP by 2035. There are provisions in this deal that will further weaken our supply-managed sectors and it includes investor-state provisions, which have been destructive to our environment and corrosive to the sovereignty of our government. In my riding of Essex, Ont., these trade deals have big effects. Essex is a microcosm of Canada, with everyone from auto workers to farmers feeling the effects of Liberal inaction. Essex is the most agriculturally diverse region of the country, with our farmers producing a wide variety of products, all of which are dependent on trade. Manufacturing remains the largest sector in the region, which includes the highly integrated auto, tool and die, and steel industries. When the prime minister fails to take a leadership role in Canada’s international trade negotiations, the families of Essex feel the consequences. So the question still stands: who exactly does the prime minister claim to be helping? How many rounds of tariffs does Canada have to endure before the Liberal Government takes international trade seriously? How many people will have to be affected for the Liberal government to provide open and strong leadership in international trade? I don’t know what the prime minister’s answers to these questions would be. But I will continue to ask them until he no longer promises “sunny ways” while keeping the rest of Canada in the dark. Tracey Ramsey is the NDP critic for international trade and the MP for Essex, Ont. The Hill Times

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How many more rounds of tariffs must Canada endure before the Liberals take trade seriously?

They appear powerless to stop duties and tariffs from piling on to Canadian industries.

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