Visiting Washington, Legault calls tariffs on steel and aluminum 'ridiculous'
Legault will join 12 other Canadian premiers in Washington meeting Wednesday
Quebec Premier François Legault has undertaken a diplomatic mission to Washington, D.C., this week, meeting with aluminum and steel importers and hoping to help them convince United States President Donald Trump to back down on announced tariffs.
Legault arrived in the U.S. capital on Tuesday, holding a series of meetings at Quebec's Washington office. The last time the premier visited the city was five years ago.
Wednesday, Legault will join 12 other Canadian premiers on their mission to Washington in response to the tariff threats.
In the afternoon, Legault met with representatives of the National Association of Home Builders, whose head of public affairs, Ken Wingert, is a powerful lobbyist, according to Washingtonian Magazine.
Wingert told Legault that the United States needed Canadian lumber, contrary to what Trump has claimed, and that Americans face a major housing shortage.
Wingert said he believes the tariffs are a negotiating tool for Trump.
"I don't understand," Legault quipped. "Are our prices too high?"
Legault also met with representatives of the Aluminum Association, Rio Tinto, Alcoa and Alstom.
Wednesday, he is expected to meet with U.S. elected officials, including three Democrats — Representatives Tim Kennedy, Don Beyer and Marilyn Strickland — and two Republicans, Representatives Adrian Smith and Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Smith is a member of the House Commerce Subcommittee, while Miller-Meeks serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Legault held a briefing to reporters Tuesday, reacting to the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, expected to come into effect March 12.
"Just take aluminum. In the United States, 5.9 million tonnes of aluminum are consumed per year and they only produce 800,000 tonnes — 14 per cent of their needs," Legault said. "So, what they are doing right now is ridiculous."
Legault said he came to Washington to find a way to reach a new agreement between Canada and the United States.
"A win-win agreement," he said.
In a post on X Monday, Legault wrote that he wanted to remind Americans that Quebec is the largest aluminum exporter to the U.S. and that he wanted to "vigorously defend the interests of Quebec and its workers."
Some experts say the U.S. president's tariffs are likely the first step in his plan to undermine the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement before a mandatory review in 2026.
Legault has said Canada should begin renegotiating the free-trade agreement with the United States "as soon as possible. We must put an end to this uncertainty," he wrote on social media Sunday.
Radio-Canada article translated by Verity Stevenson