Industry leaders and politicians in Quebec are furious over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff order on aluminum imports, calling the move a brutal, unjustifiable blow to the province.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order to levy 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum entering the U.S. starting March 12.
Hours before Premier François Legault left for Washington, D.C., Tuesday alongside other Canadian premiers, he called Trump’s move a “totally unjustifiable decision.”
“Quebec is the largest aluminum importer to the U.S.,” he wrote on X. “I will be there to vigorously defend our interests and workers.”
François Racine, president and CEO of AluQuébec, which represents over 40,000 workers who process and transform aluminum, told Global News he is in disbelief at the announcement.
“It will increase its price in North America by at least 25 per cent, along with everything made with aluminum,” Racine said. “Everything will get more expensive, further increasing inflation, which is what Trump …