Good day. I'm Todd Stafford. I'm the president of Northern Cables in Brockville, Ontario.
Northern Cables is a 24-year-old Canadian owned and operated manufacturing company based in Brockville, Ontario. We are the remainder of what was once a large domestic aluminum wiring cable manufacturing industry in Canada. Gone are Canadian-owned companies like Alcan, Canada Wire and Cable, and Phillips Cables. These businesses were supplied mainly with primary aluminum produced in the province of Quebec.
In 24 years Northern Cables has grown to three manufacturing facilities of 275,000 square feet and 250 full-time employees. Our company processes materials sourced only in North America. Northern Cables purchases the bulk of its cast aluminum rod from the province of Quebec and exports about 50% of its finished products out of the country.
Since the economic cycle in 2007 when copper reached a price of $4.20 U.S. per pound, the popularity of using aluminum as an alternative material in power cables has increased dramatically. The U.S. government has attempted to apply tariffs on aluminum and steel products originating from outside of the United States, specifically aimed at China. Unfortunately, these measures are easily avoided by applying connectors to cables and reclassifying goods as other products, such as by selling aluminum in cast animal shapes.
Part of the tariff actions reflected concern with material being shipped to other transshipment countries before entering the United States. Statistics Canada shows significant imports of aluminum wire in the form of stranded conductors—bare, insulated and assembled cables coming from China, India, Turkey and the United States. An action by two large U.S. domestic manufacturing companies resulted in a finding by the U.S. Department of Commerce that Chinese imports were sold in the U.S. at 58.5% to 63.4% below fair value. Chinese exporters received countervailing subsidies at the rate of 33% to 165%.
Since this hearing is about the new Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement, Northern Cables has four points we'd like to raise to protect the domestic manufacturers from being harmed.
First, enforce that landed prices of competing foreign manufacturers arrive at fair market value in Canada.
Second, enforce that Canada not become a transshipment country into which aluminum is dumped, causing displacement of other aluminum.
Third, strengthen our customs import codes so that products cannot be mislabelled or repackaged in such a way as to circumvent our import rules and permit below-market prices entering Canada.
Last, support Canadian manufacturers' interests on CSA and UL wire and cable committees and standards, in which harmonization by the other two countries could reduce existing Canadian safety standards. A little example of this is the need for -40°C-rated cables in Canada rather than the -25°C-rated cables available in the United States.
Thank you.