London Chamber of Commerce CEO sounds off on Trump’s steel tariffs

The CEO of London’s Chamber of Commerce is concerned with U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned steel and aluminum import tariffs.

The finer details of a 25 per cent penalty on imported steel and a 10 per cent penalty on imported aluminum, and who they apply to, are set to emerge next week.

But if they’re imposed on Canada, Chamber of Commerce CEO Gerry Macartney says it wouldn’t be good for anyone.

“It has the potential to put us back into that protectionist era, and even beyond that, trade wars, which does nobody any good,” said Macartney.

“We work and live in a global marketplace, and it’s going to be a little less global if Trump gets his way. If I had my way, I’d ban all national leaders from having a Twitter account,” he quipped.

Macartney said the tariff’s impact would go beyond just Sault St. Marie, Hamilton, and Windsor, where aluminum and steel production is prominent.

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“Doesn’t take too much of a stretch to imagine the auto sector, the defence sector, and others in our community particularly having a huge impact,” he said.

Instead of worrying about Canadian imports, Macartney suggests Trump worries about “inferior” product coming in from China.

“Worry about the dumping of low-grade off-economy steel — that’s the new code word for China — if you block Chinese product coming into North America… that’s the target you ought to have, not Canada.”

But if you look back at Trump’s past decisions, Macartney says he’s prone to “wobble.”

“Our hope is that he’ll wobble on this one.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also sounded off on the trade measures, calling them “absolutely unacceptable.”