TORONTO — Facing a mounting backlash, the Ford government is backing away from its demand for Ottawa to scrap retaliatory tariffs against the United States.

The change in tone came only hours after Ontario Trade Minister Todd Smith held a press conference Monday morning calling on the federal government to end all counter-measures to the crippling steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The request was roundly criticized by industry, experts and the Trudeau government.

“The Ontario government’s calling on the federal government to review the retaliatory measures currently in place. These measures are having consequences on the competitiveness of Ontario’s industries,” Smith told reporters.

“Reviewing Canada’s retaliatory measures may act as a means to persuade the newly elected U.S. Congress and the U.S. administration to remove the U.S. imposed steel and aluminum tariffs.”

Last year, the federal government imposed dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs to match the 25 per cent steel tariff and the 10 per cent aluminum tariff that the U.S. had slapped on Canada.

The counter tariffs cover some steel and aluminum products as well as an array of other items from bourbon to strawberry jam and toilet paper.

Smith and Tory MPP Ross Romano were repeatedly asked to clarify that they want Canada to pre-emptively remove all of its retaliatory tariffs in a bid to convince Trump to do the same.

Both confirmed that was the request and Smith said Ford had previously made a similar demand. The provincial government hopes that removing Canada’s tariffs could be the incentive needed for the U.S. to do the same.

The Aluminum Association of Canada rejected that pitch. It tweeted that the association wants the government to “maintain all tariffs on U.S. imports and support Canadian businesses as long as U.S. tariffs are in place.”

The Canadian Steel Producers Association echoed that sentiment and the federal Liberals accused the Ford government of wanting Canada to roll over for Trump.

“The Ford Government’s call for Canada to unilaterally and unconditionally remove its counter-tariffs would equal unilateral surrender to the Americans. The reciprocal tariffs are critical to pressuring the Americans to end this dispute once and for all,” read a statement from Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains.

Later in the day, the province partially changed its stance, saying it only wants the tariffs on miscellaneous imports like bourbon to be removed.

“We are not calling on the federal government to remove the retaliatory tariffs on steel and aluminum that match the U.S. tariffs,” Smith’s director of communications Sarah Letersky said.

Partially removing retaliatory tariffs won’t work: trade expert

However, neither of Ontario’s proposals will work, according to Eric Miller, an advisor on trade negotiations and president of the Rideau Potomac Strategy Group.

The retaliatory tariffs serve to put pressure on the American economy and businesses. So, he said, if the federal government removed all counter tariffs there would be no incentive for Trump to remove his tariffs against Canadian steel and aluminum.

“It would take a bad hand and make it worse,” Miller said.

And the Ontario government’s pitch to only partly remove Canada’s retaliatory tariffs creates other problems, he said. For retaliatory tariffs to have an impact, Miller said they need to match the American tariffs “dollar-for-dollar.”

Only applying tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, as the Ford government is proposing, would mean Ottawa would need to considerably increase their value to match the U.S. duties. He said that would mean Ontario’s auto manufacturers, who rely heavily on steel, would “suffer significant harm.”

“You could be setting yourself up for a case where you’re making the situation worse rather than better,” he said.

Miller said while “there’s no easy answer” to convincing Trump to get rid of all of the tariffs, he argued that some progress is being made especially with growing support from Congress. One possibility is that American legislators will demand Trump remove the tariffs as part of a deal to pass the renegotiated North American free trade deal.

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