Sisi Chan

Steel sector praises new tariff measures, but says more needs to be done

The head of Canada’s steel industry expresses mixed feelings about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s measures to uplift the domestic steel industry against U.S. tariffs, showing one major disappointment.

Carney has announced to tighten quotas on foreign steel entering the country and to lower freight rates for materials crossing provincial borders.

Catherine Cobden, CEO of Canadian Steel Producers Association, expresses that the new measures won’t entirely compensate for the U.S. market loss but recognizes them as a step forward.

Cobden expresses disappointment regarding the extension to Canada’s remission program for some steel importers in critical industries, which weakens Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel.

Carney has assured that the remission program would end at the end of January. Cobden promises to hold the federal government accountable.