WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday said it firmly opposed reported plans by the Trump administration to re-impose 10% tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada this week, warning that Canada would likely retaliate against U.S. exports.
The United States is planning to re-impose tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada, Bloomberg reported late on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Neil Herrington, senior vice president for the Americas at the Chamber, said re-imposing the tariffs would hurt U.S. manufacturers that use aluminum and was the "wrong way" to mark the start of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement on July 1.
The Bloomberg report said the tariffs would be announced on Friday if Canada declines to impose export restrictions.
The White House and U.S. Trade Representative's office did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Canada, whose aluminum industry is highly integrated with that of the United States, on Tuesday denied its aluminum exports harm the U.S. market.
Some industries, including automakers, have been asking for delayed implementation of the new North American trade agreement, citing challenges linked to the coronavirus pandemic. The USMCA, as the treaty is known, replaces the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement between the three economies.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a challenge to President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported steel brought by an industry group that had argued that a key part of the law under which he imposed the duties is unconstitutional.
The United States imposed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum in 2018 but removed them last year.
Trump signed a proclamation this year increasing tariffs on derivative steel products by an additional 25% and on derivative aluminum products by an additional 10%, from which several countries, including Canada and Mexico, were exempted.