‘It’s ridiculous’: Legault deplores Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum

Quebec Premier Francois Legault is in Washington to re-negotiate new trade deals amid the tariff threats from Trump.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum from March 12 is “ridiculous,” said François Legault on his arrival in Washington on Tuesday.

“Just take aluminum. In the United States, 5.9 million tons of aluminum are consumed every year and they produce just 800,000 tons , or 14 per cent of their needs,” the premier pointed out.

“So it’s ridiculous what they’re doing at the moment,” he added.

Legault is on a two-day trip to the U.S. capital this week, his first in five years, organized to counter Trump’s tariff threats.

On Wednesday, he will join his counterparts from the other provinces and territories on a special Council of the Federation mission to Washington aimed at “strengthening Canada-U.S. relations.”

In addition to targeting steel and aluminum, Trump is threatening to impose tariffs of 10 per cent on oil and 25 per cent on all other Canadian products from March 4.

The 25 per cent on steel and aluminum would be added to the 25 per cent on all Canadian products, leading to a total tariff of 50 per cent on these metals, a White House official told The Canadian Press.

On Tuesday afternoon, Legault met representatives of the National Association of Home Builders, whose head of public affairs, Ken Wingert, is said to be an influential lobbyist.

As soon as he arrived at the Quebec Office in Washington, Wingert said that the United States needed Canadian lumber, contrary to what Trump has claimed in recent days.

Americans are facing a major housing shortage, he explained, and tariffs could have the effect of inflating prices and restricting access to home ownership.

“Why would Mr. Trump want to import wood from elsewhere?” asked Legault, to which Wingert replied that, in his view, the tariffs were part of a more global negotiating strategy for Trump.

With Alstom, the train and wagon manufacturer, Legault said he had discussed the impact of the tariffs on the transfer of parts between Quebec and the United States. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is Alstom’s largest shareholder.

$1,500 more for an F-150 pickup truck

“One thing is certain: with the arrival of the tariffs, the price of vehicles in the United States will rise by, for example, at least $1,500 for a Ford F-150,” said Jean Simard, President of the Aluminum Association of Canada.

In a press scrum, he described the American measure as “very destructive” and said he hoped the Americans would “express the pain they are going to feel” before the midterm elections in 2026.

“This is much more likely to move the administration than any letters we might write,” he said.

On Tuesday, Legault also met representatives of the Aluminum Association, Rio Tinto and Alcoa, to whom he said that Quebec aluminum could find takers elsewhere.

“We must not rule out the possibility that aluminum produced in Quebec could be sent to Europe or elsewhere, because it makes no sense to have these tariffs imposed on us,” he said.

Renegotiating with aluminum as leverage?

Later, in a press scrum, he backed up his remarks, suggesting using aluminum as leverage to renegotiate the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement as quickly as possible, before the 2026 deadline.

“What is increasingly urgent to protect the jobs of Quebecers is to reach a new win-win agreement ... with Mr. Trump, meaning that we share the industries,” he said.

In his view, “no one wants to invest in Canada now” because of the uncertainty caused by the tariff threats. We have to “find what will please Mr. Trump,” he insisted.

The transport sector is “a good example where Mr. Trump could develop well-paid jobs in the manufacturing sector,” Legault said.

“It could be a Pandora’s box, a bit like reopening the Canadian Constitution to sort something out, and then finally, everyone comes up with their own agenda and there’s no way out,” Jean Simard said.

“If Mr. Trump reopens the door, will that be to our advantage or not? It’s very risky,” he added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 11, 2025.