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tariff engineering, which amounts to struc-
turing products so that they receive favour-
able duty treatment.
"We've been unbelievably busy with
clients who come to us for help about the
most advantageous way to procure goods
and build products in ways that will miti-
gate the effect of the tariffs to the greatest
extent possible," Pearson explains.
e difficult thing is that it's not always
clear whether a particular product is caught
by the tariffs or the related exemptions.
And with the World Trade Organization's
(WTO) dispute resolution mechanism at
a standstill, guidance is stalled, leaving the
uncertainties to linger.
"e WTO is frozen at the appellate
level because the Americans have not
agreed to any new appointments and there
aren't enough adjudicators to hear the cas-
es," Pearson says.
Currently, there are only three individu-
als on the appellate tribunal with two of
es for raw materials, and even if they could,
they have to weigh longer delivery periods
and increased shipping costs into the mix,"
Amato-Gauci says. "All of this makes for a
very uncertain and tough environment."
ings look particularly grim for some
businesses affected by the steel and alumi-
num tariffs imposed by the Trump admin-
istration and the retaliatory surtaxes that
marked the Trudeau government's reaction.
"A 10 percent tariff for aluminum is a big
number for the industry and 25 percent for
steel is virtually an embargo," says Darrel
Pearson, co-head of international trade at
Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto.
e longer it goes on, the greater the
impact — especially for the smaller players.
"I don't think it's sustainable for small
and medium enterprises to see their profit
margins eroded through these measures,"
Amato-Gauci says. "ere will be busi-
nesses that don't survive, job losses that
have already been sustained and more to
come, and the inevitability of increased
costs for consumers."
Even rumours that Washington is con-
templating rescinding the steel and alumi-
num tariffs are cold comfort.
"e uncertainty will persist even if that
happens, because experience shows that
we're only one tweet away from things
changing yet again," Amato-Gauci says.
Meanwhile, the focus of international
trade practice has changed considerably.
"Instead of urging clients to take full
advantage of trade liberalization, trade
lawyers are spending a great deal of their
time looking for ways around the various
surtaxes and tariffs that have emerged,"
Amato-Gauci says.
More than ever, trade lawyers must stay
abreast of developments.
"e key is to stay on top of the changes
and communicate with clients in a prag-
matic way," Pearson says.
Among the more popular solutions is
