Sisi Chan

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

The head of Canada’s steel industry mostly appreciates the new tariff measures by Prime Minister Mark Carney, pointing to a segment that falls short of satisfaction. Mark Carney’s profile and U.S tariffs provide context.

Prime Minister Mark Carney made an announcement on fresh measures to help steel and lumber producers tap into domestic avenues. The new strategy involves tighter quotas for foreign steel and a scaled-down inter-provincial freight rates. For more details, you can refer to Carney’s new measures.

Catherine Cobden, the CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, interprets the measures as not wholly offsetting the loss of the U.S. market, even though these are a move in the right direction.

Ottawa’s second extension of the remission program for certain steel importers came under criticism as it seems to weaken Ottawa’s counter tariffs on U.S. steel.

Cobden intends to hold the federal government accountable to its assurance that the remission program will cease by January, getting extended from the original deadline.