Top Republicans slam Trump's anti-Canada tirade, metals tariffs

Two of the president's fiercest Republican foes have come to Canada's defence as a trade war brews between the U.S. and its neighbour to the north over steel and aluminum tariffs — with at least one senator slamming U.S. President Donald Trump's actions as "insulting" to such a close ally.

Top Republican lawmakers Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee — both outspoken critics of Trump in recent months — said the Trump administration's justification of these punitive tariffs on national security grounds is bogus and an abuse of U.S. law.

"Can you imagine, being Canada, our closest ally on the planet, and being told that they represent a national security threat, that the export of steel and aluminum is threatening our national security?" Flake told reporters Wednesday after meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland at the Capitol building in Washington.

"That's insulting. It really is. And I frankly commend Canada for its measured and sober response to this."

Corker said he doesn't "think there's any question" that Trump has damaged relations with Canada after slapping tariffs on its imports and lobbing personal insults at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Corker and other lawmakers — Democrats and some of Trump's fellow Republicans — have backed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act — a sweeping defence policy bill that Congress passes every year — to prevent the president from imposing tariffs on national security grounds without first obtaining Congress' consent.

So far, Trump's allies in the Senate have sought to stifle Corker's efforts, prompting Corker to accuse those Republicans of being afraid to "poke the bear."

Trump's tariffs were imposed using presidential authority granted under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president broad powers to impose tariffs without consulting Congress.

"I think it's an abuse of presidential authority to use the 232 waiver," Corker said. "I don't know of any senator that hasn't expressed concerns about what is happening, and just sort of the random nature of what is happening. I thought the best way to deal with that was through legislation."

"Canada is not a country we have trade issues with," he added.

Section 232 has only been used twice before in U.S. history to restrict imports: in 1979 on oil imports from Iran, after that country's theocratic revolution resulted in the storming of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and in 1982 against similar imports from Libya.

"Canada has been very clear. The section 232 justification is frankly absurd. The notion that Canadian steel and aluminum could pose a national security threat to the U.S. — I think Americans understand it's simply not the case. It is illegal under NAFTA and WTO rules," Freeland said, while noting the U.S. has a surplus in steel trade with Canada.

Tariff tit-for-tat

Initially, the U.S. exempted Canada, Mexico and the EU from new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump subsequently rescinded those exemptions as part of his drive to protect U.S. industry from what he claims is unfair foreign competition.

Now, a 25 per cent tariff will be levied on Canadian steel, while a 10 per cent tariff will be applied to aluminum. In response, Canada slapped the U.S. with $16.5 billion worth of new tariffs on a host of U.S. goods, from lawn mowers to playing cards and felt-tipped pens.

In a January 2018 report prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce on steel and aluminum imports, the department concluded that a flood of cheaper foreign imports of these materials has hobbled the U.S. industry — meaning American companies might not be able to quickly respond to procurement requests from the U.S. Department of Defence.

In other words, the Trump administration isn't claiming that Canada poses a physical threat to the U.S. — but it is arguing that its cheaper products threaten the continued viability of the U.S. metals industry and its capacity to respond to military demands.

"As steel imports have increased, U.S. steel production capacity has been stagnant and production has decreased," the report reads.

Trudeau has called the use of section 232 "an affront to the … thousands of Canadians who have fought and died alongside American comrades-in-arms."