US withdraws Canada aluminium tariffs amid retaliation threat
- Removal of 10 per cent levy comes ahead of expected dollar-for-dollar counter tariffs by Ottawa
- US had earlier claimed that taxes were justified by surge in metal imports from its close ally
The Office of the US Trade Representative said the US is ending the 10 per cent tariffs a month after imposing them. The US had charged last month that an influx of Canadian aluminium justified the levy.
But the office said on Tuesday that shipments of Canadian aluminium are returning to normal levels. It said it could reimpose the tariffs if the imports surged again.
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A senior Canadian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Canada had made no concessions.
“Their statement has all sorts of language about what they expect from Canada, but it’s important to note Canada has agreed to none of that,” said the official said, who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.