Latest U.S. tariffs hard to celebrate, but give time for talks: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith [Video]

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she doesn’t want to be “exuberant about dodging the bullet” with U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement but that it might push a trade agreement renegotiation until after the April 28 federal election.

The Trump administration went ahead Thursday with 25 per cent levies on all auto imports, which adds to existing 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.

Canadian goods imported under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, remain spared from tariffs, though imports outside the pact will be hit with 25 per cent levies, including 10 per cent for energy.

Smith told a room of business leaders in downtown Calgary many sectors will still be hurt.

“It’s hard for me to celebrate,” she said Thursday. She pointed to a “devastating” impact on the forestry industry, and for steel, aluminum and autoworkers.

She said a renegotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement, known as CUSMA, could …