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Unions write letter to U.S. trade representative asking him to reconsider latest tariff threat · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: As the US threatens more tariffs against Canada, two of
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  Speaker 1: the largest unions in North America are calling on President
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  Speaker 1: Donald Trump to reconsider. The United steel Workers and the
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  Speaker 1: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers wrote a joint
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  Speaker 1: letter to Trump's trade representative Jamison Greer. It reads, in part,
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  Speaker 1: we call for renewed engagement and negotiations to return our
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  Speaker 1: relationship to a more stable, balanced footing. Our priority must
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  Speaker 1: be to align our trade policies to address the challenges
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  Speaker 1: posed by unfair and predatory trade practices of countries like China,
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  Speaker 1: not to drive a further wedge between our nations. Roxanne
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  Speaker 1: Brown is the international president of the United steel Workers.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for doing this. I appreciate you coming on the show.
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  Speaker 1: Your letter has got a lot of attention. What specifically
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  Speaker 1: would you like to see US Trade Rep. Jameson Greer
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  Speaker 1: do after he's now received and read this.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me tonight, Peter. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I think for me and President Brian Bryant both it
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  Speaker 2: we really just wanted to be on record about our
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  Speaker 2: concerns about the upcoming three thirty eight tariffs. You know,
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  Speaker 2: no one on your program is surprised about the suite
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  Speaker 2: of tariffs right that have been laid across the Canadian economy,
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  Speaker 2: and we know very well that there is a lot
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  Speaker 2: of pressure. These additional tariffs will create additional pressure, and
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  Speaker 2: so we're hoping that there can be a meeting of
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  Speaker 2: the minds between Ambassador Greer and the Canadian Trade Ambassador
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  Speaker 2: to try to find a path forward that doesn't open
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  Speaker 2: to an additional round of tariffs on the Canadian economy.
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  Speaker 1: Have you been able to get any response either back
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  Speaker 1: channel they're official from either Greer or the Canadian Trade
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  Speaker 1: or our Trade ambassador or Trade Minister. Is dominic LeBlanc, right, Yeah, No.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I was just with Ambassador Greer on Monday.
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  Speaker 2: We sent our letter out on Tuesday and meeting I
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  Speaker 2: had with him on Monday really and Brian Bryant was
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  Speaker 2: in not meeting as well. We echoed the same sentiment
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  Speaker 2: that was in our letter on Tuesday, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: the Ambassador is always perceptive. We always operate from the
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  Speaker 2: place of transparency with the administration around trade issues, and
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  Speaker 2: we are very clear that folks are feeling the pressure
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  Speaker 2: in Canada. Our members are feeling the pressure in Canada
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  Speaker 2: that they're like brand folks are afraid of their livelihoods.
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  Speaker 2: We have about fifteen Winter members. We have experienced negative
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  Speaker 2: economic consequences and we want to reverse that and we
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  Speaker 2: want to stem that tide. And so we're very clear
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  Speaker 2: that Canada should not face the ire of, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the United States when it comes to trade policy, because
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  Speaker 2: Canada is our closest friend and we should really be
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  Speaker 2: focusing with efforts on actors.
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  Speaker 1: And yet your your letter makes it clear that you
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  Speaker 1: stand by a lot of the you know, we we
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  Speaker 1: will continue to support the policies where we can, and
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  Speaker 1: that you feel some of these and especially I think
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  Speaker 1: the steel tariffs have have worked well. What is it
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  Speaker 1: about these in particular that that you think will harm
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  Speaker 1: where you support the other ones.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's just the sun of tariffs against KIDA
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  Speaker 2: and the fact that it cuts across so many different
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  Speaker 2: sectors and sectors like for US, where there some of
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  Speaker 2: them understanding it and they've only done.
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  Speaker 3: These tests and tests this week.
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  Speaker 2: Additional class taken any accept and potential joints is that
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  Speaker 2: you don't want to see people just want to make
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  Speaker 2: a living, They want to be able to go to
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  Speaker 2: the world, they want to be able to tune they're dounts,
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  Speaker 2: not just today but into the future. They want to
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  Speaker 2: be able to have their economic activity play a role
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  Speaker 2: in their communities. That's what we want, right and that's
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  Speaker 2: the conversation we're happening with the ambassad career, and also
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  Speaker 2: not just about the impacts.
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  Speaker 3: On the Canadian side.
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  Speaker 2: Right there are products that go across the border between
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  Speaker 2: the United States and Canada multiple times before that product
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  Speaker 2: is finished and finalized. Each time it goes over the
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  Speaker 2: border to Canada, it's hit with a cost, and that
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  Speaker 2: creates uncertainty not just for the job on the Canadian
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  Speaker 2: side of the border, but also on the US side
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  Speaker 2: of the border that is connected to that Canadian job
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  Speaker 2: right around that product. And so we're trying to peel
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  Speaker 2: back the onion, you know, for the US Trey ambassador
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  Speaker 2: around what these economics look like in real time practically
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  Speaker 2: for still worker jobs, not just in the United States
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  Speaker 2: but also in Cain.
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  Speaker 1: You know, we talk a lot in this country about
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  Speaker 1: what impact all these are going to have on the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian economy and on Canadian businesses and Canadian firms. I
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  Speaker 1: wonder just walk us through, especially with this latest salvo,
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  Speaker 1: like one of the things that they're targeting in these
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  Speaker 1: tariffs that if they come through on August nineteen, it's cement.
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  Speaker 1: You need cement to build anything. We get a lot
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  Speaker 1: of cement, especially from the West Coast into in the
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  Speaker 1: United States. What impact will these have on the American economy,
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  Speaker 1: on American workers and American businesses.
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  Speaker 2: If they go ahead, you know, and I think it
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  Speaker 2: remains to be seen across a whole suite of sectors.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that's probably one of the most challenging
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  Speaker 2: things of this time. As I said earlier, you know,
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  Speaker 2: our practice as a steel workers for now almost five decades,
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  Speaker 2: almost five decades, we've had to utilize our trade policy
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  Speaker 2: to try to equalize and level the playing field between
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  Speaker 2: the US economy and bad actors. Right Canada has not
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  Speaker 2: been one of those bad actors, and so for us,
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  Speaker 2: we really really want Investment Grew to work with the
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  Speaker 2: Canadian Trade Minister so that we jointly can go at
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  Speaker 2: the bad actors who are dumping products into the United
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  Speaker 2: States like steel and aluminum and cement and tires and
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  Speaker 2: so many other products.
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  Speaker 3: That's what we want the focus to be.
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  Speaker 2: Our economy depend on each other.
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  Speaker 3: Please buy it.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I just like push back because you have supported
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  Speaker 1: the steel terriffs that have driven up the costs for like, yes,
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  Speaker 1: it's done good for the steel industry, but there's like
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  Speaker 1: seventy five times more people in America that you steal
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  Speaker 1: to make stuff than there are people that make steel,
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  Speaker 1: and you supported those terraffts. I wonder what has changed
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  Speaker 1: and why it's this round of terrifts that has you
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  Speaker 1: speaking out and not the last round that has caused
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  Speaker 1: so much damage on both sides.
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  Speaker 3: Of the border.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we support did the sectionally two thirty two tariffs
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  Speaker 2: that were done in twenty seventeen because we were in
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  Speaker 2: a suspended period of devastation for jobs across the US
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  Speaker 2: domestic steel and aluminum sectors. It was a devastating period
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  Speaker 2: and there needed to be a very strong remedy put
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  Speaker 2: in place so that the thousands upon thousands of jobs
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  Speaker 2: in the US that were being lost and with domestic
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  Speaker 2: steel and aluminum sectors, that there was a stemming of
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  Speaker 2: that time and during Trump one, we were able to
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  Speaker 2: kind of work with then and the trade Ambassador Leifeiser
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  Speaker 2: and the Canadian government to try to find a place
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  Speaker 2: right of agreement around those terraffs. The environment around the
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  Speaker 2: second Trump administration has been different. We do not disagree.
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  Speaker 2: We still believe and know that we need the Section
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  Speaker 2: two thirty two tariffs. We would like there to be
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  Speaker 2: again kind of a meeting of them minds as we
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  Speaker 2: had during the first Trump administration. We're not there yet. Similarly,
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  Speaker 2: we're not there with these suite of tariffs that have
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  Speaker 2: been laid across the additional tariffs that have been laid
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  Speaker 2: across the Canadian economy. But it's an ongoing conversation that
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  Speaker 2: we are having with Ambassador Career. We are known to
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  Speaker 2: be quite frank. We are not letting up in this conversation.
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  Speaker 2: Neither are Union rather than machinists. We need them to
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  Speaker 2: understand how difficult these pressures are on the members and
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  Speaker 2: their jobs in Canada, and that we are in a
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  Speaker 2: process with creasingly where we can actually find a place forward,
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  Speaker 2: I mean path forward where we can go back to
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  Speaker 2: the close allied relationships two governments have had together. And
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  Speaker 2: so that's where we remain and we will continue to
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  Speaker 2: press there.
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  Speaker 1: All right, we're gonna have to leave it there, but
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  Speaker 1: I really do appreciate your time on this.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, thank you so much,