'Very, very good' deal: Union at Regina steel plant pleased tariffs are ending

The elimination of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum is great news for Saskatchewan companies such as Evraz Regina, says the president of the United Steel Workers local that represents workers at the steel company.

Mike Day said he's hopeful some of the product lines that have been hampered by the tariffs will soon benefit from the deal and see an increase in production.

On Friday, Canada and the U.S. agreed to end the nearly year-long tariff war between the two countries.

The deal applies to tariffs the U.S. imposed last June, citing national security — 25 per cent on imports of steel and 10 per cent on aluminum — as well as Canada's retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and other consumer products.

As part of the deal, the Trudeau government has agreed to end its legal case against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization on the tariffs.

The deal also includes a monitoring system to watch out for any potential surges in the metals markets.

Day said members of the union are especially pleased the deal doesn't include quotas — which could limit how much steel Canada can export to the U.S.

"I'm still shocked that there is no quota system," Day said. "We'd spoken with [Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia] Freeland back in October and she told us they weren't going to accept a quota system. We didn't want one and there isn't one so it is very, very good."

Federal minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale held a news conference at the Evraz office to talk to reporters about the breakthrough.

Goodale, who represents Regina-Wascana and is the lone Liberal MP in Saskatchewan, said he's happy to see the two countries reach an agreement.

He added the problems with the steel market was not really between the U.S. and Canada.

It's other countries that are dumping steel into North America which are to blame, he said.

"That is the primary source of the difficulty," Goodale said. "Not the trade between Canada and the United States, but the product that comes in offshore that's unfairly subsidized or dumped into the North American market."

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who will be in Washington, D.C., next week, said the agreement will be good for the province.

"The removal of tariffs from our steel and aluminum products is a good step in strengthening jobs and economic growth, and removes barriers to Canada's relationship with our most significant trading partner," Moe said Friday in a press release.

"Canada's steel is among the most sustainably produced in the world, and we in Saskatchewan are proud that our steel products are an integral part of so many industries across North America," said Moe, who will be in Washington, D.C., next week for talks with U.S. politicians.