Three New Democrat MP’s in Windsor-Essex want local companies to access the tariffs collected by the federal government.
Tracey Ramsey, Cheryl Hardcastle and Brian Masse have written a letter to the Liberal government that calls for the creation of a task force.
They say it would help local manufacturers access funds the government is collecting through tariffs.
All three Members of Parliament say the funds would help protect jobs in our region.
The federal government has also announced a $2-billion support package for steel and aluminum manufacturers affected by recent U.S. tariffs on their exports.
But the New Democrats say accessing those funds are proving difficult.
“We have a way to do that with this task force,” says Ramsey. “It's something our leader will be calling on nationally as well. We hope that the government will agree that this is a critical time to support communities like ours but all Canadians in this struggle that we are facing.”
Finance Minister Bill Morneau also announced on Tuesday that the federal government will consider potential safeguards to slow the flood of foreign steel entering the Canadian market.
Canada has already imposed retaliatory tariffs on American-made steel and other goods as part of the ongoing trade war with the U.S.
“Yesterday in Windsor, I heard from businesses that are very impacted by cross border trade that are involved in custom duty for example or auto parts they're very concerned with NAFTA,” said Morneau.
The safeguards would target seven steel products that are used in construction.
Morneau is also launching 15 days of consultations to address any concerns from the industry.
