U.S. delays steel, aluminum tariffs for second time; June 1 set as new deadline – by Alexander Panetta (Financial Post – May 1, 2018)

http://business.financialpost.com/

CANADIAN PRESS – WASHINGTON — The United States has delayed the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs for another month, with a late-evening announcement Monday that pushed the internationally contentious issue off to June 1.

The announcement came just before the deadline for the tariffs taking effect and marked the second such delay over an issue that has threatened to spark a global trade war.

The White House said it would pause tariffs for Canada, Mexico and the European Union; would soon announce steel and aluminum agreements with Argentina, Australia and Brazil; and had already reached a deal with South Korea.

In a statement, it described the goal of these negotiations with different countries: setting quotas that limit the volume of steel and aluminum imports, with the objective of keeping out excess Chinese supply that has depressed global prices. The issue is particularly relevant to Canada, as the No. 1 supplier of both materials to the U.S.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has repeatedly stressed to his American counterpart why tariffs on Canada would be an especially bad idea, given that U.S. military vehicles rely on metals from Canada, and private-sector supply chains also use materials that criss-cross the border.

For the rest of this article: http://business.financialpost.com/news/canada-among-countries-watching-u-s-in-suspense-as-tuesday-tariff-deadline-hits