Latest news with #CanadianSteelProducersAssociation
Calgary Herald
16 hours ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Canada's steel industry says Trump's next tariff hike threatens 'mass disruption' to supply chain
Article content United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to jack up tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent on June 4 in a move that will further inflame trade tensions. Article content Canadian steel and aluminum producers have faced 25 per cent U.S. tariffs since early March, even though Trump has granted pauses and scaled back some of his administration's other tariffs. Article content Article content The consequences of the steel and aluminum tariffs include reduced industry profits and higher prices for consumers on a wide range of goods, which then reduces demand and further erodes profits. The tariffs have already led to layoffs at plants throughout Canada. Article content 'Steel tariffs at this level will create mass disruption and negative consequences across our highly integrated steel supply chains and customers on both sides of the border,' the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) said in a statement on Saturday. Article content Trump made the announcement at a steel plant near Pittsburgh, saying no one would be able 'to steal your industry.' Article content The announcement, which also affects aluminum, comes at a time when global steel prices have been low, which had softened the blow of the tariffs on U.S. buyers of steel. Article content Still, the impact has been pronounced in Canada. Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based Algoma Steel Inc. said in its first-quarter earnings report that it paid $10.5 million in tariffs after they had been in place for just two weeks. Article content Article content An updated figure has not been released since then, but chief executive Michael Garcia earlier this month said 60 per cent of Algoma's revenue has traditionally come from the U.S., and the company was making changes to reduce that to closer to 50 per cent. Article content Article content 'The Canadian market has become increasingly challenging, as foreign steel that would have historically gone to the U.S. is now being redirected to Canada due to U.S. tariffs,' he said at the time. 'This has created an oversupply … across multiple product segments, driving down prices and compressing margins.' Article content Algoma's share price has declined 48.9 per cent since January, and 59 per cent since November, to $4.94 per share. That has reduced its total market capitalization to $518 million. Article content The company is just completing an $850-million project to switch its steelmaking process to an electric arc furnace, which will vastly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while also changing its business structure by allowing it to use scrap metal.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
50% tariffs could end Canadian steel exports to U.S.
Francois Desmarais, vice- president of Trade & Industry Affairs at Canadian Steel Producers Association, talks with Financial Post's Larysa Harapyn about the Canadian steel industry's reaction to Donald Trump's latest tariff threats.
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘We will onshore every single widget we can': Ford says in response to 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is vowing to 'onshore every single widget we can' after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum. Ford made the comment during a media availability in Saskatoon on Monday, where he was scheduled to participate in a first minister's meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and his provincial and territorial counterparts. Trump said last week that tariffs on imported steel and aluminum would be increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent as of June 4. That, in turn, could potentially devastate the Canadian steel industry. 'We will onshore every single widget we can so we don't have to be reliant on the U.S. This goes back to the pandemic days when President Trump, everyone remembers, he cut us off on the N95 masks and we said we would never rely on another country again,' Ford said when asked about the latest salvo in the ongoing trade war with the U.S. 'We stood up, the whole sector, we are producing N95 masks right now through 3M in Ontario so we don't have to rely on the U.S.' Data from the U.S. Commerce Department has previously shown that Canada shipped $7.6 billion worth of iron and steel over the U.S. border last year. In a statement released over the weekend, the Canadian Steel Producers Association said that by doubling tariffs the U.S. is 'essentially closing' that market to the Canadian steel industry. It also warned that 'steel tariffs at this level will create mass disruption and negative consequences across our highly integrated steel supply chains.' Speaking with reporters on Monday, Ford said he has already been in contact with industry stakeholders and will 'be there to support any steel company' that needs it. As part of that, he said that he has asked the industry group to provide a list of the opportunities that may exist to purchase more Canadian steel from the domestic market. 'I will give you an example: steel beams. There is no reason we should be getting steal beams from the U.S. when there is more cranes in Toronto than the top 10 cities combined. And my favourite one is the aluminum that gets shipped out down to the U.S., gets a 25 per cent tariff, they convert it, print it and then the cans come back into Canada and there is another 25 per cent (tariff),' Ford said. 'We are bringing a company on board to make aluminum cans here so the Molson's, the Labatt's, the Coca Cola, the Pepsis and every other person that uses a tin can is going to get it from right here in Canada. It will be great for the whole country and the U.S. is going to lose a billion dollars of business.'
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Doug Ford vows to ‘onshore every single widget we can' in response to 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is vowing to 'onshore every single widget we can' after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum. Ford made the comment during a media availability in Saskatoon on Monday, where he was scheduled to participate in a first minister's meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and his provincial and territorial counterparts. Trump said last week that tariffs on imported steel and aluminum would be increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent as of June 4. That, in turn, could potentially devastate the Canadian steel industry. 'We will onshore every single widget we can so we don't have to be reliant on the U.S. This goes back to the pandemic days when President Trump, everyone remembers, he cut us off on the N95 masks and we said we would never rely on another country again,' Ford said when asked about the latest salvo in the ongoing trade war with the U.S. 'We stood up, the whole sector, we are producing N95 masks right now through 3M in Ontario so we don't have to rely on the U.S.' Data from the U.S. Commerce Department has previously shown that Canada shipped $7.6 billion worth of iron and steel over the U.S. border last year. In a statement released over the weekend, the Canadian Steel Producers Association said that by doubling tariffs the U.S. is 'essentially closing' that market to the Canadian steel industry. It also warned that 'steel tariffs at this level will create mass disruption and negative consequences across our highly integrated steel supply chains.' Speaking with reporters on Monday, Ford said he has already been in contact with industry stakeholders and will 'be there to support any steel company' that needs it. As part of that, he said that he has asked the industry group to provide a list of the opportunities that may exist to purchase more Canadian steel from the domestic market. 'I will give you an example: steel beams. There is no reason we should be getting steal beams from the U.S. when there is more cranes in Toronto than the top 10 cities combined. And my favourite one is the aluminum that gets shipped out down to the U.S., gets a 25 per cent tariff, they convert it, print it and then the cans come back into Canada and there is another 25 per cent (tariff),' Ford said. 'We are bringing a company on board to make aluminum cans here so the Molson's, the Labatt's, the Coca Cola, the Pepsis and every other person that uses a tin can is going to get it from right here in Canada. It will be great for the whole country and the U.S. is going to lose a billion dollars of business.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trump's 50 percent tariff bombshell sparks cross-border chaos, industry panic, and fears of a new trade war with Canada
US President Donald Trump 's recent decision to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, from 25 to 50 percent, has sent shockwaves through the North American steel industry. Canada's steel producers warn this move will cause 'mass disruption' and could deeply harm workers and businesses on both sides of the border. On Friday(May 30), Trump announced the steep tariff increase during a rally at US Steel's Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh, asserting it would protect and revive American steel manufacturing. 'Our steel and aluminum industries are coming back like never before,' Trump said. 'Nobody is going to get around that.' While the president celebrates a rebirth of US manufacturing, Canada's steel industry paints a starkly different picture. Canada's steel industry is at risk Live Events 'The Canadian and US steel industries are so tightly linked that tariffs at this level will disrupt entire supply chains,' said Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA). 'This move essentially closes the US market to half of Canada's steel production.' Cobden called on the Canadian government to respond immediately by reinstating retaliatory tariffs on US steel and aluminum imports, and by implementing new protections to prevent unfairly traded steel from flooding Canadian markets. The CSPA warns that a trade war between the two countries would have 'unrecoverable consequences' for workers, businesses, and communities that depend on steel production. For many towns in both countries, steel mills are more than factories, they are lifelines that provide stable jobs and economic security. A human story behind the tariffs Take Hamilton, Ontario, known as Canada's 'Steel City.' Generations of families have worked in steel mills that now face uncertainty. Workers like Jamie Thompson, who has spent 20 years at a local plant, worry the tariffs will trigger layoffs or plant closures. 'This isn't just numbers on a page. It's our livelihoods,' Thompson said. Similarly, in Pennsylvania's steel towns, the sentiment is mixed. While some cheer the tariffs as a lifeline, others worry that retaliatory tariffs will make steel exports to Canada and Mexico more difficult, potentially leading to lost business. Background: Why tariffs? The US first imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum in March, citing concerns about 'dumping', the practice of countries selling steel at a loss to undercut US producers. Trump claims these tariffs will bring manufacturing jobs back to the US after years of decline. However, experts warn that such tariffs often lead to higher costs for manufacturers who rely on steel, such as the automotive and construction sectors, driving up prices for consumers. What's next? The new 50 percent tariff takes effect next week, leaving little time for governments and businesses to prepare. Canadian officials have reportedly been consulting on possible countermeasures, and Cobden stresses: 'The time for the Canadian government to act is now.' As the two countries brace for a potential trade escalation, workers and communities on both sides of the border face uncertainty, caught between political decisions and economic realities.
