Trump’s Tariffs on Canada Boomerang as Aluminum Prices Soar; Carney Draws Closer to UAE

[Financial News] The high tariffs imposed on Canada by the U.S. government under President Donald Trump are boomeranging in the form of a sharp rise in aluminum prices in the United States. As costs rise for U.S. companies, Canada is accelerating efforts to diversify trade and reduce its reliance on the U.S., signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On the 27th (local time), the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) noted that “about 70% of U.S. aluminum imports in recent years have come from Canada.” Although the number of aluminum smelters operating in the United States has fallen from 24 in 2000 to just four today, President Trump abolished tariff exemptions for Canadian aluminum and raised the tariff rate to 50%, ostensibly to protect the domestic aluminum industry.
Concerns were raised that, given the United States’ weak aluminum production base, the burden of the tariffs was falling on U.S. companies and consumers. Aluminum prices in the United States had risen sharply under the impact of high tariffs and other factors, while trade restrictions on Russian aluminum and supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf region stemming from the war with Iran added to upward pressure on prices.
According to the report, rising aluminum prices are weighing on the U.S. manufacturing sector broadly, and Ford is projected to see its raw-material costs rise by as much as $2 billion (about 2.6528 trillion won) this year.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who vowed to “double trade with countries outside the United States over the next 10 years” because of the trade war with the U.S., chaired the signing ceremony for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries that same day with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan.
The Office of the Prime Minister of Canada announced that “once the agreement is fully implemented, tariffs on at least 99% of Canadian products exported to the UAE will be reduced or eliminated.”
[email protected] Hong Chae-wan Reporter