OTTAWA — If President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian products, Americans could suffer significantly, according to Quebec Premier François Legault.
In an op-ed published Wednesday in The Hill, Legault argues that “that tariffs of 25 per cent on exports from Canada and Mexico would reduce American GDP by at least 1 per cent over one year, not to mention inflation.”
In the letter, he writes that the United States does not have the capacity to produce enough aluminum. Quebec, he points out, supplies 64 per cent of the raw aluminum used by American companies.
“Tariffs of 25 per cent would therefore only result in increasing the prices of beer cans, car parts, airplane parts and a host of other products for American consumers and businesses,” he said.
He then pointed out that Quebec is a major supplier of supplies to the American military aviation industry, such as engines, landing gear and flight simulators.
“These products are not replaceable in the short or medium term and imposing tariffs of 25 percent will be equivalent to increasing costs by 25 percent for American companies and ultimately, for the Pentagon,” he argued.
But he also emphasized one of Quebec’s greatest assets: its electricity. The province exports its electricity to the United States, including via a transmission line to New York State.
“This clean, dependable, and cheap electricity is an extraordinary advantage for New Yorkers and their businesses. It lowers the cost of energy for Trump Tower, to give just one example,” he wrote.
Legault’s letter comes as Canada prepares to counter potential tariffs that could go into effect in five days. It also comes hours before Canadian premiers are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.
Legault, who recently met with President-elect Donald Trump in Paris, made the same argument that Stephen Harper made recently, that Canada’s trade surplus with the United States is due to imports of “reliable, cheap energy.”
“Without these imports of Canadian oil, gas and electricity, the United States has a trade surplus of $58 billion with Canada,” he wrote.
Canada’s prime ministers are tasked with persuading U.S. politicians and stakeholders to help convince the new administration to change its mind about tariffs on Canadian goods.
Recently, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met with Trump at his Mar-A-Lago resort. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has also given numerous television interviews south of the border, and Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King plans to travel to the U.S. to do his part.
National Post
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