Minister says B.C. aluminum smelter confident it will find non-U.S. aluminum buyers
B.C. aluminum smelter braces for impact of 25% U.S. tariffs
The operators of the B.C. Works aluminum smelter in the province's north are confident it will find non-U. S. markets for its product, the minister co-ordinating British Columbia's response to tariff threats from the United States said Monday.
Ravi Kahlon said that B.C. Premier David Eby had recently met with Rio Tinto, and the company had a "good level of confidence" that fresh markets would be found in a "fairly quick way" for aluminum produced at the Kitimat facility.
The government has been working with Rio Tinto and others to figure out how to move B.C. products to other jurisdictions since the moment tariffs were suggested by U.S. President Donald Trump, Kahlon said.
Though U.S. tariffs will have an impact "in the short term," the province is comfortable new buyers will be found, with aluminum particularly in demand, he said.
"There is a demand in the world for this. And in particular, from British Columbia. We do produce some of the lowest-carbon products in the world, and there's still a demand for that," Kahlon said.
Rio Tinto's aluminum smelter and hydropower facility in Kitimat was one of the largest contributors to B.C.'s manufacturing GDP in 2023, according to its website, providing over $517 million to the economy with aluminum output of 377,000 tonnes that year.
Taylor Bachrach, the local NDP MP for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, says the Kitimat facility is responsible for around 1,500 jobs in the local area, and the tariffs would have a devastating impact.
"It's a time when we need to stand united in the face of these threats," he told CBC News.
"This is, really, a threat to our economy, and the president seems hellbent on inflicting maximum damage. And that's incredibly disappointing given the long relationship we've had with the United States."
Premier heading to Washington
Eby was on his way to the U.S. on Monday night for a joint mission to Washington with fellow premiers to meet with Republican lawmakers and attempt to sway the president away from tariffs.
The premier spoke to reporters on Monday before leaving, saying he would emphasize the importance of working together with key decision-makers on his trip.
"This trip is about sending the message that it's not just Canadian families we're standing up for here; it's American families as well," he said.
"These tariffs, even just the tariffs announced today, are going to increase the cost of so many things for Americans, everything from cars to airplanes."
Kahlon spoke to reporters just before Trump signed an executive order to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including Canadian products.
The premier added that the tariffs were Americans "taxing themselves" for critical minerals that were in demand in the U.S., saying the U.S. produces about 1.5 million tonnes of aluminum a year domestically but has an annual demand of five million tonnes.
The new duties came a week after Trump temporarily paused plans to hit Canada and Mexico with sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on goods and a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.
Kahlon added that interprovincial trade is "critically important" for many goods.
"We've been trying for years, from British Columbia, actually leading conversations, to have some of those barriers be removed, and only now are we seeing some real progress and some meaningful conversations with all partners across the country," Kahlon said.
"So I'm very hopeful that now we've got the political will from other provinces to see some of these things across the line, and that's something the premier has been needing with the other premiers across the country."
Margareta Dovgal, the managing director of non-profit resource advocacy organization Resource Works, said that there was a need to retaliate to the U.S. tariffs but said that any retaliatory tariffs should be planned carefully to not unduly impact B.C. producers.
"There's a risk if we go too far on it, it might put some businesses under," she said. "We saw in response to [Trump's] news in November that a number of B.C. manufacturers had signalled hiring freezes."
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With files from the CBC's Hanna Petersen, Meera Bains and On The Coast