VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby said Monday he is confident that aluminum produced in the province will remain in demand globally, despite tariffs from Washington that Eby described as the Americans "taxing themselves."
Eby was on his way to the U.S. on Monday night for a joint mission to Washington with fellow premiers, to meet with lawmakers and attempt to sway U.S. President Donald Trump away from tariffs.
Earlier in the day, Trump signed an executive order to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including Canadian products — a move Eby described as a "big headache" for companies such as Rio Tinto, which operates the BC Works aluminum smelter in the province's north.
"But I have confidence in the products we produce and our amazing ports here, and the ability to get these global commodities onto the water and to buyers around the world," Eby said before boarding his flight in Vancouver. "People need what we produce here in B.C."
Eby said the U.S. produces about 1.5 million tonnes of aluminum a year domestically but has an annual demand of five million tonnes, meaning it is taxing itself with the tariffs because imports are necessary.
Earlier in the day, the provincial minister co-ordinating B.C.'s response to the tariff threats said Eby had recently met with Rio Tinto, and the company had a "good level of confidence" fresh markets would be found in a "fairly quick way" for aluminum produced at its Kitimat facility.
Ravi Kahlon said the provincial government has been working with Rio Tinto and others to work out how to move B.C. products to other jurisdictions since the moment tariffs were suggested by Trump.
Though U.S. tariffs will have an impact in the short term, the province is comfortable new buyers will be found, with aluminum particularly in demand, Kahlon said.
"There is a demand in the world for this. And in particular from British Columbia, we do produce some of the lowest-carbon products in the world, and there's still a demand for that," Kahlon said.
The new U.S. duties on aluminum and steel came a week after Trump temporarily paused plans to hit Canada and Mexico with sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on goods and a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.
Kahlon added that interprovincial trade is "critically important" for many goods.
"We've been trying for years, from British Columbia, actually leading conversations, to have some of those barriers be removed, and only now are we seeing some real progress and some meaningful conversations with all partners across the country," Kahlon said.
"So I'm very hopeful that now we've got the political will from other provinces to see some of these things across the line, and that's something the premier has been needing with the other premiers across the country."
Rio Tinto's aluminum smelter and hydropower facility in Kitimat was one of the largest contributors to B.C.'s manufacturing GDP in 2023, according to the company's website, contributing over $517 million to the economy with aluminum output of 377,000 tonnes that year.
— With files from Chuck Chiang
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.
Marcy Nicholson, The Canadian Press
