Port of Hamilton chief executive slams tariff war ignited by Trump

Ian Hamilton, President of the Port of Hamilton, home to the largest Canadian steel producer (ArcelorMittal Dofasco), has struck out at punitive import tariff barriers introduced by President Trump that are having a significant economic impact on the Great Lakes region as a whole. On June 1, President Trump leveled tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico, and the European Union.

“Far from putting up barriers, we should be thinking about the Great Lakes region as a single economic machine,” the chief executive of the biggest Canadian Great Lakes port said. “ As a Great Lakes port, we have a front-row view on how integrated the Canada-US economies are.”

“In fact, the Great Lakes region accounts for half of all US/Canada bilateral trade,” Hamilton noted.

And he added: “If the Great Lakes region were its own national economy, it would be the third biggest in the world, with 51 million jobs. Each year, there is $278 billion in bilateral U.S.-Canadian trade in the Great Lakes area, and Canada is the best customer of every Great Lakes state. We are monitoring the situation closely and keeping in close contact with our colleagues in the steel sector.”