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First Post
7 hours ago
- Business
- First Post
'Catastrophic' job losses: Canada's steel industry trembles as Trump announces sharp tariff rise
The move to increase tariffs drew swift criticism from Canadian officials and industry leaders, who said the tariffs threaten to devastate a sector already under strain from earlier trade measures read more US President Donald Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2025. AFP Photo Canada's steel industry warned of 'catastrophic' job losses, factory slowdowns and supply chain disruptions after US President Donald Trump announced a sharp increase in tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, raising them to 50 per cent. Trump announced the tariff hike during a rally Friday (May 30) in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, framing the decision as a way to protect American industry and touting a $15 billion partnership between Nippon Steel and US Steel. He said the tariffs would take effect Wednesday and called them a 'fence' around domestic production. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The announcement comes less than a month after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House in an effort to repair strained relations. Carney had hoped to reset ties that had been damaged by previous threats from Trump to impose steep tariffs and even annex Canada. The two leaders had signalled a willingness to renegotiate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement during Trump's first term and is scheduled for review next year. Tariff increase sparks criticism, fears The move to increase tariffs drew swift criticism from Canadian officials and industry leaders, who said the tariffs threaten to devastate a sector already under strain from earlier trade measures. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminium to the United States, accounting for nearly a quarter of US steel imports in 2023 and about half of aluminium imports. 'A 25 per cent tariff is difficult, but a 50 per cent one is catastrophic,' Financial Times quoted Catherine Cobden, president of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, as saying. The steel industry in Canada is valued at 15 billion Canadian dollars (US$11 billion) and supports 23,000 direct jobs, along with another 100,000 indirect positions, according to the association. '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,' Cobden said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Cobden said the new tariffs 'essentially close the US market' to Canadian producers and will 'have unrecoverable consequences.' The Aluminium Association of Canada said it was awaiting 'clearer and more formal legal confirmation' before offering a full response. Canada's international trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, said the government remained 'resolute' in defending its workers and industries. 'As we negotiate a new economic and security relationship with the US, Canada's new government will stand strong to get the best deal for Canadians,' LeBlanc wrote Saturday (May 31) on X, formerly Twitter. Golden Dome and 51st state The latest tariff move coincided with remarks by Trump earlier in the week claiming Canada would have to pay $61 billion to participate in a proposed 'Golden Dome' missile defence system. Trump said the cost would be waived if Canada joined the US as its 51st state. A spokesperson for Carney said the prime minister 'has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with President Trump, that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one.' Canada responded to the new tariffs with its own set of retaliatory measures. Officials announced a 'dollar-for-dollar' response targeting C$12.6 billion in US steel products, C$3 billion in aluminium, and C$14.2 billion in other goods. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Those measures, launched in March, come on top of earlier retaliatory tariffs on C$30 billion worth of US products. However, Canada eased some restrictions in April, particularly those affecting US automakers and manufacturers. Canadian ministers and provincial leaders are scheduled to meet Monday in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to discuss economic diversification and strategies to reduce reliance on US trade. 'This isn't trade policy, it's a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers,' said Marty Warren, national director of the United Steelworkers in Canada. 'Thousands of Canadian jobs are on the line, and communities that rely on steel and aluminium are being put at risk. Canada needs to respond immediately and decisively to defend workers.' Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, urged caution, saying it was important 'not to take the bait' and instead remain focused on renewing the USMCA. 'These moving goalposts is just a strategy to try and get Canada to give more,' Hyder said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canada Goose: Vertical manufacturing an edge against tariffs
This story was originally published on Supply Chain Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Supply Chain Dive newsletter. Canada Goose is using its vertical manufacturing capabilities to adjust production to demand in a market characterized by tariff uncertainty, executives said during a May 21 earnings call. The luxury retailer manufactured over 90% of its down-filled outerwear in the company's facilities in Canada in fiscal year 2025, per an SEC filing. By coordinating its in-house manufacturing with third-party suppliers, Canada Goose was able to adjust efficiently to customer demand. 'Our vertical manufacturing is a real source of competitive advantage for us,' Beth Clymer, president and COO, said. 'We are currently leveraging this capability more than we ever have before, which is especially valuable in today's dynamic market.' Canada Goose owns and controls its entire production process, from raw materials to finished products, allowing for sourcing adjustments to mitigate tariff disruptions. With production primarily based in Canada, the brand is largely unaffected by tariffs due to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Clymer said. In the last fiscal quarter, however, tariff impacts were primarily felt in Canada Goose's European production, which makes roughly 20% of the company's products. Many brand manufacturers with more global production networks have scrambled to reduce manufacturing exposure to China to avoid hefty U.S. tariffs. SharkNinja, for instance, plans to move nearly all its manufacturing to Southeast Asia by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Colgate-Palmolive is reducing its reliance on suppliers in China while increasing the number of its U.S. manufacturing facilities. But Canada Goose hasn't fully escaped the effects of tariffs. The company decided not to release a financial forecast for fiscal 2026 because of jittery consumers in a changing economy. 'The pull of the guide and the decision not to provide an outlook for the year is entirely around what we see as a fairly uncertain consumer environment around the world,' CFO Neil Bowden told analysts. 'There's no doubt that the trade environment is choppy.' This story was first published in our Procurement Weekly newsletter. Sign up here.
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump rips reporter who asked if he ‘always chickens out' on tariff threats: ‘That's a nasty question'
President Trump bristled when asked by a reporter Wednesday whether markets have been calm in the face of his tariff spree because they believe he 'always chickens out' on tariff threats, blasting the question as 'nasty.' During a brief gaggle in the Oval Office after the swearing in of Interim Attorney for the District of Washington Jeanine Pirro, CNBC White House correspondent Megan Casella asked Trump about his credibility on tariffs. 'Mr. President, Wall Street analysts have coined a new term called the TACO trade. They're saying 'Trump always chickens out' on your tariff threats. And that's why markets are higher this week. What's your response to that?' she asked. Trump appeared frustrated by the question, which seemingly referenced Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong's assessment of how Wall Street is interpreting the administration's tariffs. 'Oh, isn't that nice. Chicken out. I've never heard that,' Trump replied before turning indignant. 'You mean because I reduced China from 145% that I set down to 100 and then down to another number. I said you have to open your whole country.' 'And because I gave the European Union a 50% … tariff and they called up and they said, 'Please let's meet right now,' he added. 'And I said, 'I'll give you until July' … you call that chickening out? 'Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead,' he later said. 'People didn't think it would survive, and you ask a nasty question like that. It's called negotiation … Don't ever say what you said. That's a nasty question.' Back on April 2, which he dubbed 'Liberation Day,' Trump had fired off a 10% baseline tariff rate, then a blitz of customized rates against virtually every country on the planet. The move sent markets into a nosedive. But just before the customized rates were poised to take effect, Trump announced that he would pause all of them, except the one on China, until July 8 to give his trade team time to negotiate lightning deals with countries. Markets quickly began rebounding. The Trump administration has since cut a deal with China, subject to his highest tariff rates, to reduce them to about 30% temporarily while negotiations play out. 'We have $14 trillion committed to investing when Biden didn't have practically anything — this country was dying,' he added. 'You know, we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. 'I went to Saudi Arabia. The king told me, he said, 'You have the hottest country in the world right now,'' Trump added. Earlier this week, the president agreed to delay the deadline he imposed against the European Union from June 1 to July 9, during which he's threatened to slap 50% tariffs on the bloc. The move came after a call with EU President Ursula von der Leyen. The Trump administration previously imposed 25% tariffs on automobiles, aluminum, steel and imports from Canada and Mexico that don't comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. That's in addition to the baseline 10% tariff rate on all imports and the 30% tariffs on China. Originally published as Donald Trump rips reporter who asked if he 'always chickens out' on tariff threats: 'That's a nasty question'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Court strikes down Trump tariff decrees, says president overstepped his authority
In a ruling late Wednesday, a federal court struck down a wide swath of trade tariff decrees by President Donald Trump since he took office, finding the president overstepped his authority with the international levies. The ruling impacts new tariffs Trump has issued, without Congressional approval, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of International Trade said Congress has exclusive authority to set and regulate international commerce and that authority is not superseded by a president's emergency powers declaration. 'The court does not pass upon the wisdom or likely effectiveness of the President's use of tariffs as leverage,' the panel wrote in its ruling, per Reuters. 'That use is impermissible not because it is unwise or ineffective, but because (federal law) does not allow it.' The ruling is in response to two lawsuits, one filed by a group of small retailers who argued their businesses had been harmed by the tariffs, and another group of 12 Democratic states. The judges gave the Trump administration 10 days to issue new orders reflecting the permanent injunction. Trump lawyers filed a notice of appeal immediately following the decision. The order will halt the current blanket tariff of 10% on most import goods coming into the U.S., a 30% tariff on Chinese goods and 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The ruling does not impact other sector-specific tariffs issued by Trump including current levies of 25% on imported autos, auto parts, steel and aluminum, CNN reported. Those trade levies were issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act — a different law than the one Trump cited for his broader trade actions. 'We won — the state of Oregon and state plaintiffs also won,' Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University's Scalia Law School and the plaintiffs' lawyer, said to CNN immediately after the ruling. 'The opinion rules that entire system of liberation day and other IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs is illegal and barred by permanent injunction.' On April 2, Trump issued a raft of new trade levies including a blanket 10% tariff on all foreign imports and additional reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, some as high as 50%, that were assessed on nations identified as having significant trade inequities or barriers. A week later, the president announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal levies but kept the 10% blanket tariff in place. At the same time he also upped the import fees on most Chinese import goods to 145%. On May 12, following talks between U.S. and Chinese trade officials, Trump announced he was rolling China import levies back to 30% for 90 days. Earlier, Trump had declared new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China aiming to quell the flow of illicit drugs and illegal immigration across U.S. borders. All of those new levies were issued under authority Trump claimed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, but the trade court judges disagreed. '(International Emergency Economic Powers Act) does not authorize any of the worldwide, retaliatory, or trafficking tariff orders,' the panel of judges wrote in their ruling Wednesday. 'The worldwide and retaliatory tariff orders exceed any authority granted to the president by (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) to regulate importation by means of tariffs. The trafficking tariffs fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders.' In a statement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai argued trade deficits have created a state of national emergency for the U.S. and the trade court's decision to invalidate Trump's tariff strategy superseded its jurisdiction. 'Foreign countries' nonreciprocal treatment of the UnitedW States has fueled America's historic and persistent trade deficits,' Desai said. 'These deficits have created a national emergency that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defense industrial base — facts that the court did not dispute. 'It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency. President Trump pledged to put America First, and the administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American greatness.' Decisions issued by the U.S. Court of International Trade, based in New York, can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ski-Doo maker BRP books near 300% profit jump, boosts estimate for tariff hit up to $70M this year
Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo maker BRP ( shares rose to their highest level since March as the company reported a nearly 300 per cent year-over-year jump in profit. However, the Canadian powersports manufacturer also increased its estimated hit from U.S. tariffs to between $60 million and $70 million this fiscal year, while warning about challenging demand from consumers. Valcourt, Que.-based BRP reported that first-quarter profit hit $161 million, up from $42.5 million the prior year. Sales for the three months ended April 30 rose slightly on an annualized basis to $1.8 billion. 'The operating environment remains challenging, with significant macroeconomic uncertainty and a volatile tariff situation affecting consumer confidence,' chief executive officer José Boisjoli told analysts on a post-earnings conference call. BRP on Thursday morning announced Boisjoli will retire at the end of the year. 'As uncertainty is expected to continue affecting consumer confidence, we are planning for demand to remain tough until economic conditions improve,' he added. BRP manufactures products in Canada and Mexico. The company says all of its vehicles are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and are thus exempt from the bulk of American tariffs. 'However, we have seen incremental tariffs stemming from the U.S. tariff rate increase on China, the new tariffs on other countries; these are primarily impacting our [parts and accessories] business and some of our U.S. suppliers, which in turn is impacting us,' Boisjoli said. 'We now estimate that the total gross tariff impact to our business for fiscal 2026 to be between $60 million and $70 million,' he added. 'We expect this impact to be manageable, as we should be able to offset most of the incremental cost using different levers across our value chain.' In March, Boisjoli estimated a $40 million impact from tariffs throughout the year. Toronto-listed shares gained 9.79 per cent to $54.57 as at 10:23 a.m. ET on Thursday, after rising as much as 13 per cent in earlier trading. Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
