News that Donald Trump had won the U.S. presidential election this week sparked a rush of memories for Jean Simard, the president and CEO of the Aluminum Association of Canada.
“We played in that movie some years ago,” he tells Global News.
Simard is referring to the first Trump term, when in 2018 the firebrand Republican president levied 10-per cent tariffs on Canadian aluminum and 25 per cent on steel. Back then, the tariffs drove up prices globally on those commodities and ended up hurting companies on both sides of the border who were forced to contend with higher costs or bow out of business.
This time, Simard worries that Trump will be emboldened by his familiarity with the Oval Office and adopt an “accelerated” policy schedule that sees the returning president act more quickly to enact a “highly protectionist agenda.”
Story continues below advertisement
“We understand that the agenda is America first, which means no friends, no …