Feb 15 (LTIT) - Forty-six trade associations on Jan. 23 wrote to two members of the Trump administration to urge them to eliminate steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Negotiators recently completed work on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which, upon ratification, will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new pact, however, does not address the steel and aluminum tariffs that the administration imposed in 2017.

“For many farmers, ranchers and manufacturers, the damage from the reciprocal trade actions in the steel dispute far outweighs any benefit that may accrue to them from the USMCA,” the associations, representing agriculture, restaurants, industrial manufacturing and several other sectors, wrote in the letter. “The continued application of metal tariffs means ongoing economic hardship for U.S. companies that depend on imported steel and aluminum, but that are not exempted from these tariffs. Producers of agricultural and manufactured products that are highly dependent on the Canadian and Mexican markets are also suffering serious financial losses.”

The letter was sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.