Two major unions wrote a letter to United States’ President Donald Trump’s top trade official urging him to reconsider the tariff regime against Canadian imports.
In the letter, leaders of United Steelworkers and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) unions describe a trade relationship “marked more by division than co-operation.”
The note, address to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, was penned by Steelworkers’ International president Roxanne Brown and IAM International president Brian Bryant. Together, their two unions represent around 1.45 million workers in North America.
“Unlike our trade relationship with Mexico, U.S.-Canada trade is more balanced with wage, labor, environmental and other key issues that are aligned and compatible,” reads the letter.
“Our priority must be to align our trade policies to address the challenges posed by unfair and predatory trade practices of countries like China, not to drive a further wedge between our nations.”
Canada and the U.S. have been in the throes of a protracted trade war for over a year. Prior to his election to a second term, Trump vowed to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. He has made good on that promise with wide-ranging levies on softwood, steel, copper and autos, among others.
And as the Three Amigos negotiate the future of their free trade deal – which Washington alone opted not to renew – Trump promised new taxes on cement, hockey sticks, honey, and several other goods. He has also alluded to new fees in retaliation to wildfire smoke drifting from Canadian forests and communities south of the border.
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In their letter, the union heads argue that U.S. and Canada should move to align their trade policies to guard their economies from other countries’ “unfair and predatory trade practices,” such as China.
“Our unions have supported several of the administration’s trade actions. We will continue our work to abandon the outdated and misguided free trade orthodoxy in favor of trade policies that address the reality of markets and the policies of many of our competitors,” reads the letter.
“However, we must also speak out against policies that undermine our ability to strengthen our economic and national security. Canada has been a trusted and valued partner for decades.”
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. imported US$412 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2024. The following year, it imported US$382 billion. From January to May 2026, Canadian exports to the U.S. have amounted to US$163 billion.
Renegotiated deal should close disparities: UAW
Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is a contentious topic in American labour circles.
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), which represents more than 400,000 active workers in all three countries, wrote its own letter last year petitioning sweeping changes to North American trade.
In November 2025, it wrote a letter to the U.S. trade representative’s office arguing a renegotiated CUSMA should “fundamentally change how trade works.”
“Free trade has caused a crisis in blue-collar America, foreclosing a lifetime of opportunity for millions of people across the country. The loss of good union jobs translates into divorce, suicide, and deaths of despair, while entire communities are gutted and families are ripped apart.”
Wages in Mexico have not grown at the same pace in their country compared to the U.S. and Canada, according to data included in the letter. That disparity incentivized companies to “close U.S. plants and relocate to poverty-wage facilities south of the border, harming workers everywhere.”
It also argued free trade gives corporations “the power to pit workers all over the world against each other.” A renegotiated deal should provide job security to American workers, improve labour rights for workers across the continent, and impose minimum standards on labour, wage, health, safety and workplaces.
