Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday new measures to bolster Canada’s steel industry and prevent steel dumping in the Canadian market as the trade war with the U.S. drags on with no tariff relief in sight.
The Canadian government plans to “restrict and reduce foreign steel imports,” in part by reevaluating and lowering tariff-free quota volumes, Carney announced in Hamilton, Ont.
Canada is also increasing tariffs on steel products imported from non-U.S. countries containing steel melted and poured in China, Carney said.
“We have the potential to become our own best customer for steel, but we will lose that ability if we don’t manage the profound transformation now underway in the industry, and to do that, we have to change the way we do things so we can better support our companies and our workers during this time of change,” Carney said.
According to the federal government, Canada will “tighten the tariff rate quota levels for steel products from non-(free-trade agreement) countries from 100 per cent to 50 per cent of 2024 volumes,” meaning it will reduce the amount of steel a company can import before it faces additional levies.
The top countries from which Canada imports steel that do not have a free-trade agreement in place include China, Taiwan, Turkiye, India, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Argentina.
Canada will also introduce a tariff rate quota for non-U.S. countries with which it has a trade agreement.
In February, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada. Last month, he increased the rate to 50 per cent.
Canada and the U.S., meanwhile, have been in ongoing negotiations for a new economic and security deal.
Last month, Carney said he and Trump were working toward a deal by July 21. But the U.S. president last week issued a new threat to impose 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports as of Aug. 1. A White House official has confirmed to CTV News that the increased 35 per cent tariff will not apply to Canadian goods that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Carney has since revised the deadline to reach an agreement to Aug. 1.
Carney said Wednesday’s announcement excludes any changes to its deals with the U.S. and Mexico, and countermeasures in the trade war remain the same.
In February, Canada laid out a series of counter-tariffs in response to the U.S. measures at the time, but has yet to respond to the steel and aluminum levies specifically.
“In recent years, the global steel industry has been undergoing a fundamental shift,” Carney said. “Shifts driven by many factors, but I’m going to point out particularly foreign competition that unfairly benefits from non-market policies and practices.”
“And now the trade actions of the United States are further transforming global steel market dynamics and supply chains,” Carney also said, adding Canada is among the countries most affected by the changes.
While Canada has “substantial steel exports,” Carney said, it also has an open market, and coupled with high per capita steel use, Canada imports about two thirds of its steel consumption, instead of prioritizing domestic product.
“Moving forward, we must diversify our trade relationships, and above all, we must rely more on Canadian steel for Canadian projects,” he said, also pointing to an over-reliance on the U.S. market. “And those shifts start today.”
Carney also laid out a series of measures to buoy steel workers and support the industry, including funding for training and changing loan requirements for companies.
Wednesday’s announcement comes one day after Carney shifted his tone and cast doubt on securing a tariff-free deal with Trump.
Asked on Wednesday whether Canada would impose new tariffs on the U.S. if a new trade agreement includes some level of levies, Carney said: “We’ll see.”
“We believe in free trade,” he said. “We believe that the best arrangements would be low tariffs. It’s proven.”
With files from CTV News’ Brennan MacDonald and Stephanie Ha
