HAMILTON, ONT. — Hamilton City Council unanimously approved a recent motion put forth by Mayor Andrea Horwath that outlines several ways the city intends to combat U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Known as Ontario’s “Steeltown,” the measures in the motion include a “re-orienting” of the city’s tendering and procurement processes to build in the priority of sourcing steel and steel products from local companies first and even those located within the province, such as Sault Ste. Marie, along with exploring sourcing aluminium as well.
It calls on senior levels of government to “urgently facilitate the development of supply chains necessary for municipalities around the country to source Hamilton steel and steel products for their capital works projects.”
The Ontario and federal governments have been asked to do the same on their capital projects.
Council is also asking the federal and provincial governments to develop programs to cover any cost inflation that may be incurred by municipalities, with or without retaliatory tariffs, by ensuring costs are reimbursed.
Even the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) has chimed in and was included in the motion. HOPA and council are asking the federal government to establish a Canada Border Services Agency customs office at the port to facilitate the movement of locally produced steel and products. The motion also asks the federal government to seek new markets abroad and eliminate the two-week waiting period for employment insurance applications for those impacted by U.S. tariffs.
Lastly, council would like to see the federal and Ontario governments expedite the construction of the Hamilton LRT “as a stimulus initiative and commit to sourcing necessary steel and steel products from Hamilton, and passenger trains built in Canada, with a requirement that those trains be manufactured with Hamilton steel and steel products.”
Trump signed an executive order Feb. 10 that would impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including imports from Canada, on March 12. Those duties could come on top of across-the-board tariffs on all Canadian imports.
If both rounds of tariffs are implemented, the duties would stack on top of each other. That would mean a tariff of up to 50 per cent on Canadian steel and aluminum exports to the U.S.
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