Trudeau welcomes possible Keystone XL pipeline American steel exemption

The Prime Minister’s Office is welcoming a report that says the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project is exempt from Donald Trump’s directive that all U.S. infrastructure projects be built with American steel.

But the statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s spokesman stops short of confirming that the project has been granted the exemption.

The U.S. news outlet Politico reports that Keystone XL would qualify for an exemption because it does not meet the definition of a new pipeline project.

When he first signed the executive order last month clearing the way for the project, Trump also said he would require that all new American pipelines be built with U.S. steel.

Trudeau’s office says that “if confirmed,” the exemption would be a welcome recognition that the Canada and U.S. steel industries are deeply integrated and support jobs on both sides of the border.

The prospects for Keystone XL, first proposed by Calgary-based pipeline giant TransCanada nearly 10 years ago, have been whipsawed for nearly a decade by Canada-U.S. politics, an increasingly powerful environmental lobby and collapsing oil prices.

Former president Barack Obama cited environmental concerns when he cancelled the project in the fall of 2015.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper clashed with Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama over the merits of the pipeline. At one point, Harper called approving the project a “complete no-brainer,” given its potential economic impact.

At Trump’s invitation, TransCanada reapplied in January to have Keystone approved.

The pipeline would take oilsands bitumen from Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

If approved, it would pump nearly 1.8 million barrels — enough room for all of western Canadian expected production by 2030.