Is Joe Biden good for steel in Hamilton?
Analysts in the steel and local business community are optimistic that trade relations will be more predictable" under U.S. President Joe Biden, despite an executive order he signed to boost made-in-America manufacturing, just days after taking office.
Pushing a Buy North American approach" will be fundamental for Canada to protect steel and manufacturing jobs moving forward, said Gus Van Harten, professor in international trade and investment at Osgoode Hall Law School.
The Buy American executive order - which dictates stricter criteria for spending on goods and services by the U.S. government - was among the top items on Biden's laundry list during his first week in office in January, as he reversed a handful of controversial policy directives by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Whether the 78-year-old president sticks to the trade script of pre-Trump America could directly affect about 6,000 Hamiltonians employed at ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Stelco plants.
Our hope is that, locally, there will be a North American perimeter approach to trade," said Keanin Loomis, president and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. He added that the predictability factor" of the current U.S. leader will help trade dialogue, something the chamber will be monitoring closely.
Just over 50 days after he assumed the role of commander-in-chief, steel industry watchers are awaiting cues from the Biden administration on trade policy following a turbulent four years under Trump.
In 2018, Trump introduced an aggressive 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum, under a national security provision in section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
The move stunned manufacturers and antagonized allies, with Canada lodging retaliatory tariffs. They were dropped after the two countries inked an agreement in May 2019, though Trump reimposed aluminum tariffs for one month last summer.
The Hamilton steel companies were mum on the tariffs at the time. Neither company responded to inquiries from The Spectator this week.
Ken Neumann, national director at the United Steelworkers union, hopes Biden's record under the Barack Obama administration is a crystal ball into where Canadian exports will fit in the Buy American plan.
We fought and finally succeeded in getting an exemption" from Buy American provisions under Obama's 2009 Recovery Act, Neumann said. It was no doubt a very complex agreement ... so I'm optimistic."
Upcoming infrastructure spending in the U.S. may hold more answers when it comes to potentially dialing back protectionism to make room for Canadian steel exports. Washington, D.C. observers expect this to come into focus soon, with lawmakers ready to usher in a big, bold and transformational infrastructure package," U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week, according to Reuters.
It would be our assumption normally, that Canadian companies would be able to participate in that infrastructure renewal, which would include selling steel in the United States," said Marvin Ryder, an associate professor at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business. At this moment, that's the only concern about Biden, just how pro-America' he is going to be."
In contrast with Trumpian trade curveballs, Ryder said he believes predictable" policy decisions are on the horizon.
Vjosa Isai is a reporter at The Spectator covering Hamilton-based business. Reach her via email: visai@thespec.com.