Canada’s weakened job market shouldn’t expect relief after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that some of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are illegal, experts say.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs Trump had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPPA) over what he said were national emergencies linked to fentanyl trafficking in North America and international trade deficits, the latter of which led to so-called “reciprocal” tariffs against dozens of nations.
“This ruling exposes how abusive and legally flawed the IEEPA tariffs were, but Canadian workers should not mistake this for a victory,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne in a written statement.
“The risk to Canadian jobs remains severe, with the potential to even increase if Trump looks for new ways to impose tariffs or target Canadian jobs and investment.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling did not change the sectoral tariffs Trump has imposed and which have caused Canada’s economic growth to slow, spurring layoffs and uncertainty in sectors like steel and aluminum, lumber, autos and automotive parts.
The tariffs on those sectors were not struck down, and on Friday afternoon, Trump warned of more global tariffs of 10 per cent to come, though details remain thin.
That uncertainty means little relief for businesses and workers.
“The new level of uncertainty that we are entering into will be very damaging for trade, I think,” says Jean Simard, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association of Canada.
Most recently, General Motors cut shifts at its facilities in Ontario and let go of hundreds of workers, with many more indirect jobs expected to take a hit.
Algoma Steel also announced it plans to let go of more than 1,000 workers because of tariff impacts.
“The most damaging tariffs Canada faces were never IEEPA tariffs in the first place, because the Trump Administration chose to exempt goods that comply with our trade agreement,” said Payne.
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“However, so-called ‘national security’ tariffs under Section 232, targeting auto, steel, aluminum and wood products remain fully in force and could be expanded at any time.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney had not addressed the ruling or Trump’s vow to impose more tariffs as of publication time.
In a social media post, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Friday the U.S. Supreme Court ruling was an “important victory,” but jobs are still being — and could continue to be — hurt by U.S. tariffs.
“We need to keep up the fight against tariffs on auto, steel, aluminum and forestry, which remain in place and continue to hurt our workers. I won’t stop fighting until every last tariff against Canada is dropped so we can grow our economies and create jobs on both sides of the border,” said Ford.
Simard says workers in the Canadian aluminum sector shouldn’t expect any dramatic changes as a result of Friday’s ruling, and stresses that U.S. tariffs are ultimately paid for by Americans.
Simard also says Canada should see this as a positive sign that the Trump administration’s tariff posturing may not be as strong as once thought.
“It’s positive, obviously, because it sends a very strong message as to the legal pertinence of using this tariff prescription against countries,” says Simard.
“It’s not material at all for our industry in the aluminum sector because we are under a different tariff section, Section 232. But I would say that it starts to fragilize the American tariff posture in its negotiations with countries.”
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