The new trade deal reached, United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, is not going over well with local politicians and steel industry union leaders in Sault Ste. Marie.
That's because the federal government failed to get the U.S. to remove the heavy tariffs it slapped on Canadian steel and aluminum back in June.
When U.S. President Donald Trump levied heavy tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum a couple of months ago, he tied them to the success of a new trade deal. Now that he has what he wanted, leaders are upset the tariffs still remain intact.
"Frankly, when the tariffs were first levied, it seemed like they were levied to put pressure on the Canadian government. So, now that we have come to the end of the process, it's disappointing to me the steel issue wasn't dealt with. It's a critical issue." said Christian Provenzano, Mayor of Sault Ste. Marie.
Ken Neumann is the National union director for United Steelworkers.
“They said the 25 and 10 would be gone after they got a trade agreement. They got a trade agreement. These are illegal tariffs.” said Neumann.
Many in the industry believe the Canadian government made a big mistake not getting the tariffs removed right away.
Mike Da Prat is the President of United Steelworkers Local 2251.
"The time to negotiate it isn't after you already agreed to what the President of the United States wants, you can forget about negotiating after that." said Da Prat.
Sault Ste. Marie MP and Steel Caucus Co-chair Terry Sheehan says he supports the new trade deal and he has full confidence in the Prime Minister.
"I've spoken to the Prime Minister and I've spoken with Chrystia Freeland and they are committed to getting those tariffs off. They continue to have those discussions and dialogues." said Sheehan.
How serious has the tariffs been to the local steel plant?
Well, court documents say Algoma has lost $55-million since the tariffs were first issued.
"If the federal government is looking to support the dairy industry, they have to support the steel industry is a casualty of this whole process and it really needs to be addressed." said Provenzano.
The American President says the tariffs will be discussed at a later date.