Ottawa, ON – Chris Lewis, Conservative Member of Parliament for Essex; Kathy Borrelli, Conservative Member of Parliament for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore; Dave Epp, Conservative Member of Parliament for Chatham-Kent-Leamington; and Harb Gill, Conservative Member of Parliament for Windsor West, issued the following joint statement on the emerging crisis for Canadian mold makers:
“Canadian mold, tool and die and machining is a $16 billion industry that exports as much as 50 per cent of their molds to the US. Upwards of 90 per cent of this industry is based in Quebec and Ontario, with thousands of families depending on it for their livelihood. In Windsor and Essex County alone, this means $2-3 billion per year in exports to the US.
“Starting in April, the US invoked Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to unilaterally change the tariff structure on steel and aluminum goods entering; seeing tariffs increase by as much as 4,000 per cent for our mold making, and tool and die industry. Instead of taxing just the imported metals in a product, Canadian businesses will now have to pay tariffs on the entire cost of any export containing Canadian steel, aluminum or copper.
“Cavalier Tool in Windsor shared that the cost to ship a single tool went from about $1,400 to $36,000 (US) overnight. The result is purchase orders are left unfilled, proudly Canadian-made products stay on the shelves and the future of local businesses and the paycheques they support hang in the balance.
“The mold-making industry locks their pricing in as far as a year in advance, meaning they simply cannot absorb the cost of these new tariffs. This crisis requires immediate action from the government if we want to avoid significant job loss and disruption to our manufacturing sector. Mark Carney said he would get a deal by July 1st of last year; it’s time for him to live up to his word.
“With thousands of livelihoods at stake, Conservatives are calling on MPs from all parties to support an emergency study on this important question, and to ensure the government steps up to protect a vital part of our manufacturing sector.
“Conservatives will always fight for our manufacturers and the families that depend on them, and to maximize Canada’s leverage to secure the best deals for our people abroad.”