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Moe targets tariffs and trade pact in meetings with U.S. governors

The premier is in Washington, D.C., for three days as part of the National Governors Association conference, along with Doug Ford and Blaine Higgs

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Premier Scott Moe has called in an update from his working weekend in Washington, D.C., touting his efforts to persuade American officials to tear down tariff walls holding back Saskatchewan steel.

Moe is in the U.S. capital for three days as part of the National Governors Association conference, along with Premier Doug Ford of Ontario and Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick. In a conference call with reporters Friday, Moe said he’s targeting governors whose states do “a significant amount of business” with Canada.

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He said the three premiers are hammering in the message that steel and aluminum tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump are harming both countries, by cutting into a “very integrated economy.”

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“Those challenges are being felt on both sides of the border, and they’re being felt by consumers,” he said, adding that the message is being “well received.”

He said they’ve also raised the importance of the new USMCA deal, which is set to replace NAFTA. It has not yet been ratified by the United States Congress.

The premiers kicked off their business with a panel discussion on Friday, where there were unusually warm words for Ottawa’s efforts on the trade front. Ford said he believes federal government officials are “doing their best.”

All three are vocal opponents of Justin Trudeau’s policies, but they’re in Washington as representatives of the Council of the Federation, the formal grouping of Canada’s premiers. In the conference call, Moe noted that premiers have a different role when they’re abroad.

“We are not only representing the province of Saskatchewan, but we are representing the nation of Canada,” he said, adding that divisions within the country have to take a back seat.

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“Those are national policy debates for us within Canada, and what we’re working on here… are our international relations with the U.S. and what opportunities we have to advance that relationship.”

But Moe did get in one jab when a reporter asked about the National Energy Board’s recommendation to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (subject to conditions), noting that it has been years with no clear sign of the beleaguered project getting constructed.

Moe’s next stop after the panel was a roundtable event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, including roughly 30 business leaders from major corporations. Among them were representatives of Apple, Chevron, Coca-Cola, John Deere and Dow Chemical.

He told reporters that he sees room to expand Saskatchewan’s markets to the United States, which already absorbs more than half of the province’s exports.

He mentioned value-added agricultural products as one example. Moe also lauded Saskatchewan’s uranium as a “clean power source,” before warning against the potential for new tariffs on the element.

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Last year, it became known that the Trump administration was investigating whether uranium imports threaten national security, the same pretext it used to slap duties on Canadian steel and aluminum.

After the Chamber of Commerce event, Moe met with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who is the incoming chair of the NGA. He also met with US Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes.

His itinerary for Saturday calls for visits with numerous other governors and a session led by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a member of Trump’s cabinet. That session will focus on the implications of USMCA for provincial and state governments.

Sunday is expected to feature a meeting with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. South Carolina has a $100-million trading relationship with Saskatchewan, according to the provincial government. The southeastern state imports Canadian steel and aluminum, making it an attractive target for Moe’s anti-tariff message.

The government notes that the itinerary could change on short notice.

Moe has travelled to the United States at least twice before on official business, once to Arizona in May and once to Washington, D.C., in June.

awhite-crummey@postmedia.com

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