The Minister of Industry, Mélanie Joly, says that the federal government discusses with the giant of Mines and metals Rio Tinto to help her overcome her liquidity problems caused by American customs duties on steel and aluminum.
During a visit to Saguenay on Thursday to meet companies in the crucial aluminum sector in the province, Mme Joly told journalists that Ottawa has started discussions with the company earlier this week.
Last month, US President Donald Trump doubled the global customs duties imposed on steel and aluminum from around the world imported in the United States, bringing them to 50 %.
Canada will present its response to this last salvo in the trade war on July 21, had already announced Prime Minister Mark Carney, depending on the progress of negotiations between the two countries on this date.
Rio Tinto says he employ some 4,000 people in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region and plans to build a new alumina of $ 1.4 billion.
Alouette aluminum, on the other hand, announced on Friday that it will invest up to $ 1.5 billion in its facilities in Sept-Îles in the next 20 years.
The aluminum producer is committed to investing 750 million by 2030 for a total of at least 1.5 billion dollars by 2045, as part of an agreement between the company, the Government of Quebec and Hydro-Québec.
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