CIIT Committee Report

NDP Supplemental Report

The New Democratic Party thanks all who participated in the Standing Committee on International Trade’s study on the Impact of Tariffs on Canadian Businesses, Companies and Workers. We are proud to have initiated this important study at the Committee, at an emergency meeting at the Standing Committee on International Trade on June 26, 2018.  It is critical that parliamentarians understand the impact of the devastating steel and aluminum tariffs have had on Canadians businesses and workers.

While the NDP supports the report’s conclusions and recommendations, we believe it should have gone further. Emphasizing the need for the government to provide supports which truly reflect the needs of businesses and workers impacted is vital. The government must be flexible and open to implementing requested changes quickly given that time is of the essence to sustain and support these key sectors.

Canada’s steel and aluminum sector provides over 146,000 good paying jobs from coast to coast to coast. For every direct job in these sectors there are up to seven indirect jobs that are supported. While these jobs have faced immense pressure from the unfair global dumping of steel into our country, they have remained competitive and world class. There is growth potential, as outlined by witnesses, that is directly threatened by these tariffs. The steel and aluminum sectors are the backbone of our manufacturing, aerospace and infrastructure industries. Canadian supply chains that are being negatively impacted by these tariffs.

The imposition of the 232 tariffs on Canada by the United States has had a wide spread and detrimental impact on all levels of the economy that rely on Canadian steel and aluminum. As reflected in the testimony, the steel and aluminum sectors are at risk as long as these tariffs remain in place.

After a year of threats from Donald Trump regarding an imposition of tariffs and calls from the NDP for the government to include all parties in a plan, Canadians were left in the cold. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and US Trade continued to state that they were prepared, but throughout our study, facts suggest otherwise. 

What we have experienced is the abject failure of the government’s plan to deal with the devastation of these tariffs on Canadians. Their plan did not even include stakeholder consultations with businesses and labour who are best positioned to provide solutions. This fundamental error has resulted in supports that are mismatched with the needs of those most impacted. The harm on businesses and workers is augmented by the government’s refusal to revamp the aid package.

In June 2018 the government announced a $2 billion package that included loans from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC), employment insurance packages for laid-off workers and duty drawbacks and relief for businesses who were paying the tariffs. Although this package sounds like a strong commitment, we heard from nearly every witness that navigating the available supports, extended wait times for approval and slow payout of support was too cumbersome for small- and medium-sized businesses in crisis mode.

The message was clear to the members of the committee that the programs are difficult to navigate, difficult to understand, difficult to locate, difficult to apply to, include lengthy wait times for approval, and even lengthier wait times for money to reach them upon said approval.

This boondoggle is precisely why, in August 2018, New Democrats called for a National Tariff Task Force which would streamline the process, triage losses and support businesses and workers. The Task Force would bring together all parties, government departments, businesses and labour stakeholders to find a path forward, in order to achieve the most benefits from the available supports. To date, the Liberal government has still not reconfigured their plan or provided more helpful and accessible supports. In fact, many companies are not able to dedicate time and resources to the cumbersome application process as they fight to keep their doors open and workers employed.

In spite of the government’s plan, the testimony revealed that businesses have closed and workers have been laid off. Supports are not reaching those who need it most. The entire sector is in an urgent crisis that requires an urgent response from the government.

Approximately $1 billion has been collected by the federal government in their enforcement of counter measures responding to the US administration. New Democrats have called for this money to be placed in a separate fund, which would ensure accountability, and despite the harsh impact of the retaliatory tariffs, would guarantee these funds are being directed back to those who are experiencing the losses. To our dismay, this money has been placed in general revenues where it is not being specifically earmarked for those who need it.

In late August, as negotiations on the New NAFTA, aka USMCA, aka CUSMA, were heating up, New Democrats called for the Liberal government not to sign the trade deal as long as the steel and aluminum tariffs remained in place. Despite our warnings, the Liberal government signed Canada onto this agreement in late September without first negotiating the removal of the tariffs. This was extremely disappointing and is reflected too by the witness testimony we heard at the committee. In signing, we have lost our greatest bargaining chip to remove these illegal, devastating tariffs.

The NDP urges the government to consider the testimony received by the witnesses to the committee. We ask them to implement an immediate review of the supports being offered with full consultation of stakeholders and labour. It is vital to address their real needs in a sincere effort to help sustain businesses and jobs throughout our country.

The NDP thanks the witnesses who provided evidence before the committee for their dedication to the steel and aluminum sector and recognizes the difficulty of leaving their businesses during this crisis to ensure that we heard their experiences and perspectives.

Recommendations:

1. That the Government of Canada take immediate action to implement a National Tariff Task Force which would include businesses, SME’s, labour, government departments, parliamentarians from all parties and labour organizations representing affected workers.
2. That the Government of Canada provide a monthly report of the monies collected through reciprocal tariffs imposed on the United States, including the secondary list of non-steel and aluminum tariffs. This report would also include the amount provided to businesses in supports and loans from BDC and EDC.
3. That the Government of Canada send a dedicated team to Washington to work with American officials to ensure the tariffs are lifted and that the team remains in place until a fair and equitable resolution is found.
4. That the Government of Canada not introduce or pass implementing legislation to ratify the New NAFTA/USMCA/CUSMA until the tariffs have been removed.