Premiers descend on Washington, D.C. to try persuading Trump to hold off tariffs that could devastate Kitimat, B.C.

Canada's premiers are in the U.S. capital trying to convince American politicians that tariffs will be devastating on both sides of the border.

The Rio Tinto aluminum smelter is the lifeblood of Kitimat. It employs 1,000 workers in a town of 8,300 people, and is now in the crosshairs of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.

“It’s the largest and most stable employer for over 70 years here,” said Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth on Tuesday.

“It’s not just Kitimat. (Tariffs would) have a major impact on the region and the province as a whole.”

Trump signed an executive order Monday to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on both steel and aluminum, which are set to kick in March 12. And on Tuesday afternoon, the White House said those tariffs would be stacked on top of other 25-per-cent tariffs potentially being imposed as soon as March 4 on all goods – creating the potential for 50-per-cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

The Rio Tinto smelter has the capacity to produce up to 420,000 tonnes of aluminum a year. Most of its product is shipped to the United States.

“They just find a non-U.S. customer overnight, and all of a sudden everything’s good, right?” said Germuth.

Germuth says Rio Tinto is actively pursuing alternative markets, likely in Asia, but convincing Trump to walk back the tariffs is the best short-term goal.

“People are concerned, of course, not panicking, but just concerned about effect this might have,” he said. “If Rio Tinto wasn’t able to find other customers, it could have a massive effect.”

It’s a point Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopes to hammer home he said, while meeting with foreign leaders in Paris Tuesday.

“(We’ll be) working with the American administration over the coming weeks to highlight the negative impacts on Americans and Canadians,” said Trudeau.

All 13 premiers are meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, trying to persuade U.S. decisionmakers there to back off these and other tariffs.