By Spencer Van Dyk
Updated: July 17, 2025
In the face of trade uncertainty with the U.S., PM Carney has announced new measures to focus on Canada’s steel sector. Lindsay Biscaia has the details.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly says government intervention will be necessary for the Canadian steel industry’s survival, as U.S. tariffs continue to threaten it.
“Survival, and I think eventually, much more than that, the fact that they can thrive,” Joly said in an interview on the Vassy Kapelos Show across the iHeart Radio network on Thursday.
In March, the U.S. placed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, doubling the tariff rate to 50 per cent in June.
Joly pointed to efforts to get Canadian shipyards to use domestic steel and for the government to leverage its procurement purchasing power to support the industry as examples of other potential measures the federal government is willing to pursue, beyond what has already been announced.
On Wednesday, the prime minister announced additional tariffs that target steel originating in China in an effort to protect the Canadian market.
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 doubling of steel and aluminum levies specifically.
Joly said she hopes Wednesday’s announcement will “calm down the anxiety in the steel sector,” while helping to protect jobs in the industry.
In a statement Wednesday, the United Steelworkers union called the announcement, specifically the changes to tariff rate quotas, a “major win for workers.”
But many industry stakeholders and experts are still concerned.
In an interview on The Vassy Kapelos Show on Wednesday, François Desmarais of the Canadian Steel Producers Association said diversifying the market, including domestically, is likely not enough to make up for the drop in exports to the U.S., because the latter is such a significant importer of Canadian steel, and the global market is oversaturated.
According to Desmarais, shipments to the U.S. fell by about 25 per cent and there were about 1,000 job losses in March, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his initial round of 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum. Once Trump increased the rate to 50 per cent last month, “basically all our export to the U.S. have stopped,” Desmarais said.
Joly said the steel industry should be seen not just as key to the manufacturing sector, but also to defence, as Canada has promised to meet its NATO defence spending target sooner than the previous government hoped to.
“Definitely, the steel industry is impacted by the tariffs that are imposed by the White House,” Joly told Kapelos, when asked whether the sector is at risk of collapse.
“They needed to pivot,” she also said. “They needed it to make sure, first, that we protect the Canadian market from any form of dumping from foreign steel, and at the same time, we need to support them as we’re creating much more a domestic market for them, maybe through defence procurement or maybe also through our major infrastructure projects to make sure that they build, or they develop the type of steel that our industries need here.”
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 by Aug. 1.
Pressed on whether the Canadian government will accept a deal with Trump that includes some baseline levies — after Carney shifted his tone earlier this week and cast doubt on securing a tariff-free deal with the president — Joly called the U.S. a “difficult administration,” and repeated that Canada will not negotiate in public.
“At this time in the negotiations, we’ll let the prime minister do his work, and we will make sure also, of course, that we don’t negotiate in public,” Joly said, when asked about the federal government’s concessions to the U.S. after campaigning on the promise of a strong response to Trump.
“And these are complex negotiations for every country on Earth,” Joly added. “So, it is important that we stand strong. It is important that we defend Canada and Canadians interest, and we will make sure to be there, and we have Canadians’ back.”
Spencer Van Dyk
Writer & Producer, Ottawa News Bureau, CTV News
Understanding Canada’s moves to block cheap steel imports
By The Canadian Press
July 18, 2025
What is dumping?
Dumping refers to foreign firms selling goods at artificially low prices, or prices that don’t accurately reflect their cost of production. It can also mean a company selling goods for less in foreign markets than comparable goods are selling for in their home market.
Companies tend to dump goods either by selling below cost to gain market share, or because an excess of production in their home countries has them looking for markets to offload the goods and recover some costs.Trade War coverage on BNNBloomberg.ca
Government subsidies can be a significant contributor to firms selling at artificial prices because they distort price structures. Subsidies can include simply giving money to companies to help them grow, more indirect aids like preferential access to land, as well as government loans and loan guarantees and tax breaks.
The Canadian government uses all of these levers to help grow domestic industries, but governments can only go so far within international trade rules. Subsidies that artificially reduce costs so manufacturers can flood foreign markets at unfairly low prices crosses that line.
How big of a problem is steel dumping for Canada?
While dumping cases are determined on specific products, the overall scale of steel imports has swelled over the past decade. Offshore imports have climbed from 19 per cent of the Canadian market in 2014 to 39 per cent in 2022, according to the Canadian Steel Producers Association.
The steel industry also dominates anti-dumping inquiries at the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, the body tasked with determining whether imported goods are being sold at artificially low prices.
The Canadian steel industry has challenged dozens of product categories from cold- to hot-rolled steel, various wires, piping and rods, even including stainless steel sinks. The tribunal has largely ruled in favour of applications that dumping has occurred and is harming Canadian industry.
And while there are problems now, the bigger concern is how much more product, especially from China, might get diverted to the Canadian market as the U.S. moves to close off imports.
It’s also expected to be a growing problem in the future as China’s domestic demand slows. China already has 50 million tonnes of overcapacity in steel production across its 360 mills, according to Wood Mackenzie, but it said that overcapacity could swell to 250 million tonnes over the next decade. Canada’s total production, meanwhile, was 12.1 million tonnes in 2023.
How long has it been a problem?
A long time. Canada introduced the first anti-dumping provisions in the world in 1904, which singled out a “special duty on under-valued goods,” according to international trade expert Dan Ciuriak in a report.
What was unique about the measure was that it was a flexible tariff, meant to make up the difference between the selling price and the fair market value.
The problem has continued and grown as global trade has increased, leading to growing calls to do more about it.
For steel, concerns grew as China’s exports surged to 110 million tonnes in 2015 before starting to retreat, only for it to surpass that total in 2024 with 115 million tonnes in exports, according to the International Trade Administration.
Back in 2020, United Steelworkers union national director for Canada Ken Neumann said the problem of illegal steel dumping needs to stop.
“Our union will continue to aggressively defend the jobs of steelworkers across Canada who for too long have been harmed by steel imports dumped into our country and sold at unprofitable, below-market prices.”
What do the latest tariffs aim to achieve?
Canada already imposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from China last year, with the move coming into place in October.
But the steel industry and others have maintained that other countries are taking steel produced in China, processing it further and then trying to export it as originating from the there.
The latest measures are meant to help protect against that work-around. That’s why the government imposed the 25 per cent tariff on steel products that were “melted and poured” in China.Latest updates on commodities here
The move is the culmination of years of efforts to increase transparency in steel imports, including a requirement that went into effect only last November for importers to declare the country the metal is melted and poured.
Catherine Cobden, CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said the measures will go some ways to tackle China’s actions as an “egregious” overcapacity practitioner.
“Canada is taking direct aim at global steel overcapacities, and frankly, it’s a strong position, and I think will be applauded around the world. This is something that even the United States hasn’t yet done.”
---
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.
By The Canadian Press
July 18, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a statement at the Walters Group Steel fabrication plant in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, July 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that the government was tightening rules around steel imports. The move is an effort to protect Canada’s domestic industry from dumping as the global trade of the metal undergoes major shifts because of government actions out of the United States and China.
Here’s a look at some of the key questions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that the government was tightening rules around steel imports. The move is an effort to protect Canada’s domestic industry from dumping as the global trade of the metal undergoes major shifts because of government actions out of the United States and China.
Here’s a look at some of the key questions.
What is dumping?
Dumping refers to foreign firms selling goods at artificially low prices, or prices that don’t accurately reflect their cost of production. It can also mean a company selling goods for less in foreign markets than comparable goods are selling for in their home market.
Companies tend to dump goods either by selling below cost to gain market share, or because an excess of production in their home countries has them looking for markets to offload the goods and recover some costs.Trade War coverage on BNNBloomberg.ca
Government subsidies can be a significant contributor to firms selling at artificial prices because they distort price structures. Subsidies can include simply giving money to companies to help them grow, more indirect aids like preferential access to land, as well as government loans and loan guarantees and tax breaks.
The Canadian government uses all of these levers to help grow domestic industries, but governments can only go so far within international trade rules. Subsidies that artificially reduce costs so manufacturers can flood foreign markets at unfairly low prices crosses that line.
How big of a problem is steel dumping for Canada?
While dumping cases are determined on specific products, the overall scale of steel imports has swelled over the past decade. Offshore imports have climbed from 19 per cent of the Canadian market in 2014 to 39 per cent in 2022, according to the Canadian Steel Producers Association.
The steel industry also dominates anti-dumping inquiries at the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, the body tasked with determining whether imported goods are being sold at artificially low prices.
The Canadian steel industry has challenged dozens of product categories from cold- to hot-rolled steel, various wires, piping and rods, even including stainless steel sinks. The tribunal has largely ruled in favour of applications that dumping has occurred and is harming Canadian industry.
And while there are problems now, the bigger concern is how much more product, especially from China, might get diverted to the Canadian market as the U.S. moves to close off imports.
It’s also expected to be a growing problem in the future as China’s domestic demand slows. China already has 50 million tonnes of overcapacity in steel production across its 360 mills, according to Wood Mackenzie, but it said that overcapacity could swell to 250 million tonnes over the next decade. Canada’s total production, meanwhile, was 12.1 million tonnes in 2023.
How long has it been a problem?
A long time. Canada introduced the first anti-dumping provisions in the world in 1904, which singled out a “special duty on under-valued goods,” according to international trade expert Dan Ciuriak in a report.
What was unique about the measure was that it was a flexible tariff, meant to make up the difference between the selling price and the fair market value.
The problem has continued and grown as global trade has increased, leading to growing calls to do more about it.
For steel, concerns grew as China’s exports surged to 110 million tonnes in 2015 before starting to retreat, only for it to surpass that total in 2024 with 115 million tonnes in exports, according to the International Trade Administration.
Back in 2020, United Steelworkers union national director for Canada Ken Neumann said the problem of illegal steel dumping needs to stop.
“Our union will continue to aggressively defend the jobs of steelworkers across Canada who for too long have been harmed by steel imports dumped into our country and sold at unprofitable, below-market prices.”
What do the latest tariffs aim to achieve?
Canada already imposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from China last year, with the move coming into place in October.
But the steel industry and others have maintained that other countries are taking steel produced in China, processing it further and then trying to export it as originating from the there.
The latest measures are meant to help protect against that work-around. That’s why the government imposed the 25 per cent tariff on steel products that were “melted and poured” in China.Latest updates on commodities here
The move is the culmination of years of efforts to increase transparency in steel imports, including a requirement that went into effect only last November for importers to declare the country the metal is melted and poured.
Catherine Cobden, CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said the measures will go some ways to tackle China’s actions as an “egregious” overcapacity practitioner.
“Canada is taking direct aim at global steel overcapacities, and frankly, it’s a strong position, and I think will be applauded around the world. This is something that even the United States hasn’t yet done.”
---
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.
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