Quebec premier calls new Trump tariff threats on steel and aluminum 'completely unjustified'

Quebec Premier François Legault is calling  U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat on Canadian steel and aluminum producers "completely unjustified."

He made the remark in a post on X, after Trump announced his intention to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent next Wednesday. 

"If he goes ahead with this tariff increase, it will harm our economy, as well as the American economy," Legault wrote in French.

Legault added the situation was being closely monitored as they await to see the details of the executive order. 

In the meantime, "assistance programs continue to be available to businesses in need," he said. 

Both the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) and United Steel Workers Canada condemned the increase in U.S steel tariffs. 

"We're already in a dire situation with the 25 per cent tariffs imposed on us in March, so an additional 25 per cent will be catastrophic for our industry," François Desmarais, the CSPA's vice-president of trade and industry affairs, told CBC in an interview.

Meg Gingrich, assistant to the national director for the United Steel Workers, agreed, saying the move could deliver a "potentially devastating blow" to the industry.

Gingrich and Desmarais pointed to hundreds of layoffs across the country as a result of the current tariffs and Desmarais noted a "massive drop" in steel shipments to the United States. 

Desmarais said in April there were 30 per cent less shipments compared to the same time last year. 

"You have to keep in mind that over 50 per cent of Canadian steel production is sold in the United States," he said, adding he worries Canadian producers will be shut out of the market if Trump makes good on the proposed increase. 

Both organizations are calling on the federal government to take strong action and reinstate counter tariffs immediately, but some are hoping for a more measured response.

"We understand that we need to have a political answer to the situation," said Julie White, CEO of the Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec — a business association whose mission is to promote the growth of the Quebec manufacturing sector.

She said, however, that any response needs to be targeted and take into account how it will impact different sectors.