Ottawa talking to Rio Tinto about liquidity help amid U.S. tariffs: Joly
Global News
A spokesperson for Industry Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed Friday that the talks were ongoing but did not provide any further details.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says the federal government is talking to mining and metals giant Rio Tinto about helping the company with liquidity problems caused by the United States’ global steel and aluminum tariffs.
During a visit to Saguenay, Que., on Thursday to meet with businesses in the province’s critical aluminum sector, Joly said in French that Ottawa had started talks with the firm earlier this week.
She said the government had already offered funding help for a Rio Tinto project installing carbon-free aluminum smelting cells at its Arvida smelter in Québec, and that she is ready to have conversations “to know how we are able to help Rio Tinto in its liquidity” when there is a tariff war harming them “in a completely unjustified way.”
A spokesperson for the minister confirmed Friday that the talks were ongoing but did not provide any further details.
U.S. President Donald Trump last month doubled his administration’s global tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent.
Prime Minster Mark Carney said Canada will deliver its response to that latest volley in the trade war on July 21, based on how talks between the nations are proceeding by that time.
Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining firms, is dual-headquartered in the United Kingdom and Australia but operates a number of mines and refineries with thousands of employees across Canada.
Its website says it employs some 4,000 people in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region. The company announced plans in 2023 to spend $1.4 billion to expand its aluminum smelting operations in the area.
