Canada to Tighten Steel Rules, Increase Lumber Aid
Policy Shift Seeks to Protect Domestic Industries From Tariff Pressure
Key Takeaways:
- Canada will cut its tariff-rate quota on steel imports from non-trade-deal countries to 20% and add $355 million to a softwood lumber loan program, according to a person familiar with the plan.
- The measures aim to protect domestic steel and lumber producers hurt by U.S. tariffs and by foreign suppliers that industry groups said could dump excess steel into Canada.
- The government plans to announce the changes on Nov. 26 along with additional support for the two sectors.
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Canada will tighten the rules on steel imports and offer more financial help for lumber producers, aiming to stem losses in two industries targeted by U.S. tariffs.Ìý
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government will lower the tariff-rate quota level for steel imports from countries with which Canada doesn’t have a trade agreement to 20% from 50%, according to a person familiar with the government’s plans. That means steel produced in those nations will face a tariff when their volumes exceed 20% of what they sold to Canadian buyers last year.Ìý
The government will also add C$500 million ($355 million) to a loan program to help companies in the softwood lumber business, said the person, speaking on condition they not be identified because the matter is still private.Ìý
The announcement will be made on Nov. 26, along with additional measures to aid those two industries. Ìý
The protections for Canadian steel producers extend measures announced by Carney in July, whichÌýplaced a tariffÌýon steel from non-trade-deal countries when volumes hit half of 2024 levels. Above that threshold, a 50% tax applies. That move was denounced by China, which warned it would damage economic and trade co-operation between the countries.Ìý
Canadian steel companies that export to the U.S. market have been hurt by the Trump administration’s 50% tariff on an array of foreign-made steel and aluminum products. The Canadian and Ontario governments extended anÌýemergency loanÌýto Algoma Steel Group Inc., an Ontario producer that’s highly exposed to the problem.
The main steel industry group in Canada has been asking for the government to erect a higher tariff wall, to prevent foreign steel producers that no longer have easy access to the U.S. from simply dumping the metal into the Canadian market.Ìý
Canada retaliated against President Donald Trump’s initial 25% tariffs against steel and aluminum by imposing its own 25% tariff on U.S.-produced metals. However, when Trump jacked the tariff rate up to 50%, Carney declined to follow suit.Ìý
The new steel measures were reported first by the Toronto Star.Ìý
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