B.C. minister says Rio Tinto confident it will find non-U. S. aluminum buyers

The minister co-ordinating British Columbia’s response to tariff threats from the United States says the operators of the BC Works aluminum smelter in the province’s north are confident it will find non-U.S. markets for its product.

Ravi Kahlon says B.C. Premier David Eby recently met with Rio Tinto and the company has a “good level of confidence” fresh markets will be found in a “fairly quick way” for aluminum produced at the Kitimat facility.

Kahlon says the government has been working with Rio Tinto and others to work out how to move B.C. products to other jurisdictions since the moment tariffs were suggested by U.S. President Donald Trump.

He says the U.S. tariffs will have an impact “in the short term” but the province is comfortable that new buyers will be found, with aluminum particularly in demand.

Kahlon was speaking to reporters just before Trump signed an executive order on Monday to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including Canadian products.

The new duties come a week after Trump temporarily paused plans to hit Canada and Mexico with sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on goods and a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.

Rio Tinto’s aluminum smelter and hydropower facility in Kitimat was one of the largest contributors to B.C.’s manufacturing GDP in 2023, according to its website.