The head of the Canadian Steel Producers Association is expressing concerns after the United States expanded its list of steel and aluminum products subjected to tariffs, and is calling on the federal government to intervene and protect the domestic steel industry.
Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said she is dismayed the United States added 407 products to the list of goods subject to 50 per cent tariffs for their steel and aluminum content, according to a news release.
“We knew that there was an inclusion process to expand the list of derivatives for steel containing goods that they tariff,” Cobden told BNN Bloomberg in an interview Thursday. “But the magnitude, the scope of this is far greater than we expected.”
The national advocacy group represents steel producers and consumers in the country in the automotive, energy, construction, and transportation industries.
The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday said it would expand its steel and aluminum tariffs to include additional products to a list of derivatives. Products include wind turbines, mobile cranes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment.
“What this has done is taken a crushing situation and piled on, if you will,” said Cobden.
She said the industry has, for decades, integrated both economies, but it is now unravelling. The U.S. is adding components of products imported into the country, including automotive exhaust systems and electrical steel needed for electric vehicles, to the list of products subjected to tariffs, as well as components for buses, air conditioners and appliances, as well as refrigerators, freezers and dryers.
“If you are shipping a tractor into the United States, the portion of that tractor that is steel will get applied to 50 per cent tariff on the value of that steel,” said Cobden. “If it has aluminum as well, that will be an additional tariff that you’ll pay on the aluminum content.”
The new tariffs take effect immediately and cover compressors, pumps and the metal in imported cosmetics and other personal care packaging like aerosol cans and lipstick.
Cobden said motorcycle parts for companies such as Harley Davidson will be subject to the additional tariffs.
“Things are getting very, very complicated for exporters into the United States and importers into the United States, said Cobden.
Canadian manufactures feeling frustrated
Cobden said a lot of manufacturers are feeling a sense of frustration with additional tariffs being implemented on uncertain economic times disrupting supply chains on both sides of the American and Canadian border. She said companies have faced significant layoffs.
Algoma Steel Group Inc., which had 2,800 employees at the end of 2024, applied for a $500 million loan program from the federal government to diversify domestic investment. The company reported a net loss of $24.4 million last quarter compared with a $2.8 million profit a year earlier. Cobden said she wants the federal government to strengthen and protect the Canadian market.
“We’ve had a drop in production and things of that nature,” said Cobden. “We really appreciate the programs that are in place, but what we really want to do is pivot to our domestic market so that we can be more resilient and not have to rely on programs in these tough times. We want to sell more to the Canadian market.”
