Mr. Verheul, I am sure that you are going to forgive me for being fixated on aluminum, but I want to go back to it.
When the first agreement, NAFTA, was signed, we know that Canada, because of Quebec, was one of the world's leading producers of aluminum. Now, we produce almost nothing in comparison with what China is doing. Market access is therefore essential for the aluminum industry. Something we do not understand seems to have slipped into the agreement: the privileged status given to steel, but not to aluminum.
On that subject, when the agreement says that 70% of parts have to be produced in North America, we forget steel parts have to be smelted and poured in North America, which is not the case for aluminum parts. The most telling statistic on the matter comes from the market itself. From May to July 2019, exports of aluminum wheels from China fell by 60%. At the same time, those from Mexico increased by 240%. Today, they are apparently hovering around 260%. The big problem is that Mexico doesn't produce aluminum. As we are well aware, they get it from China.
If we are not able to plug that entry point for Chinese aluminum, the aluminum industry in Quebec is pretty much bound to disappear or to lose essential market shares. Could you clarify that? As you understand it, is the status of aluminum in the agreement similar to the status of steel?