Sisi Chan

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

The Canadian steel industry has aired mixed reactions to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s domestic measures against the impact of U.S. tariffs. An unexpected facet of these measures met with notable disapproval.

PM Carney: rolled out new measures designed to strengthen the steel and lumber markets domestically. These include restricting foreign steel and reducing freight rates for interprovincial transportation.

Catherine Cobden, the CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, perceives the new measures as a significant advance, albeit insufficient to fully counterbalance the impact of lost access to the U.S. market.

There is industry frustration arising from an additional extension of Canada’s remission program for select steel importers, undermining Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel.

Cobden: holds hope that the federal government will remain faithful to their commitment to conclude the remission program by the end of January, a more delayed timeline than initially envisaged.

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