Latest news with #aluminum
CTV News
2 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
CTV National News: Canada reacts to Trump's latest tariff threat
Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants manufacturers to make aluminum cans in Canada after U.S. President Trump's latest tariff threat. Mike Le Couteur reports.
National Post
2 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Ottawa commits to prioritizing domestic aluminum and steel for defence, infrastructure projects
Ottawa is committed to using Canadian steel and aluminum in national infrastructure and defence projects as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose more tariffs, Industry Minister Melanie Joly said Sunday. Article content After meeting with aluminum industry leaders at a summit in Montreal, Joly said the government is waiting to see if Trump follows through on his threat to increase steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent through an executive order. Article content The United Steelworkers union welcomed Joly's announcement Monday. Article content The union's national director, Marty Warren, said in a media statement the organization has 'consistently called for strong Buy Canadian policies to protect good jobs and rebuild domestic supply chains, especially in the face of a worsening trade war and unfair global competition.' Article content Warren said his organization will be watching to ensure the federal government follows through on its promise to use Canadian metals. Article content 'That means clear, enforceable rules that actually prioritize Canadian-made materials — starting with steel and aluminum, but also including wood, critical minerals and other key sectors. This must be the beginning, not the end, of a broader industrial strategy that supports Canadian jobs and production,' he said. Article content The Liberals campaigned in the recent election on 'maximizing' the use of Canadian steel, aluminum and forestry products in public projects. Article content Article content In March, Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the United States. Canada is the largest steel supplier to the United States, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of all imports in 2023. Article content Article content The tariffs are putting strain on Canadian metal producers and others throughout the metals supply chain. Article content Last week, aluminum trader Sinobec Group Inc. filed for creditor protection, blaming the tariffs — as well as the wider political landscape and a weak market — for its financial troubles. Article content The Montreal-based company with about 76 staff said in its creditor filing that the economic pressures and global tariffs contributed to it being unable to raise debt financing to fund a turnaround. Article content David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a specialist in defence procurement, said Joly's plan is 'definitely a worthwhile initiative' but it comes with risk. Article content Article content Introducing a Buy Canadian element to military procurement without introducing 'additional inefficiencies in our procurement system, at a time when the government also campaigned on making it more efficient and streamlined, is going to be the real trick.'
Bloomberg
6 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ontario Finance Minister Says Tariffs are a 'Lose-Lose' Policy
Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy speaks to Balance of Power about President Trump's tariff policy, including the recent increase in tariffs on steel and aluminum -- a key export from his province. Minister Bethlenfalvy also comments on Ontario's budget and deficit spending. (Source: Bloomberg)
CBC
8 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
'We need supports now:' Sault Ste. Marie mayor braces for doubling of steel tariffs
Social Sharing The mayor of a northern Ontario community that relies on the steel industry said the planned increase in "doesn't make any sense." Last Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he will double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25 to 50 per cent beginning this Wednesday. Trump first imposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada on March 12. Ottawa announced a plan to levy tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods, almost immediately after the U.S. levy on metals was pushed through. This would have a huge effect on Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie and its local workforce of 2,500. "To put it bluntly, I thought that this is a response to him getting criticized for chickening out on various previous iterations of tariffs," Mayor Matthew Shoemaker said. In an interview with CBC Radio on Monday, Shoemaker said, "It seems like in my opinion, he's doing something now to prove he is a person who sticks to his word. Not only sticks it, that goes even further than it makes sense to do so." Shoemaker said it's not possible to operate with tariffs at 50 per cent. "I've had discussions with our MP, member of provincial parliament and the steel plant over the course of the last two days, and we're trying to map out a path forward," he said. "The requests will come for support from the upper levels of government because 50 per cent steel tariffs means we're not selling steel to more than half of their customer based, which is in the U.S." 'A more negative effect' Shoemaker said that when Trump put in 25 per cent steel tariffs in 2018, it didn't help the economy in the United States. "It gained about 1,000 jobs in the steel industry and it lost 75,000 jobs elsewhere in the economy because the American made lawn mowers were no longer competitive because of the increase in costs," he said. "I don't think it's going to have the intended effect. Yes, he might be able to tout the 500 jobs added to this steel mill or 1,000 jobs were added at that steel mill, but it's going to have an overall a more negative effect on the economy than it will a positive." Shoemaker said he's looking to the provincial and federal governments for assistance. "They promised that they would support the workers affected by tariffs," he said. "So this is their chance. They have to prove their seriousness and their nimbleness to be able to do so because it's not something that we can wait six weeks to find out what the impacts are. We need supports now." The MP for the area, Terry Sheehan, said the new tariffs are "arbitrary, illegal and completely unjustified." "Our government will not back down," he said.
Globe and Mail
9 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
U.S. aluminum, steel prices jump while shares drop on Trump's 50% tariff announcement
U.S. prices of steel and aluminum spiked on Monday while shares of foreign steelmakers slumped after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would double tariffs on imports of the two metals to 50 per cent. Trump announced on Friday the new steel and aluminum levies, which take effect on June 4, intensifying a global trade war just hours after he accused China of violating an agreement with the U.S. to mutually roll back tariffs and trade restrictions for critical minerals. The U.S. is the world's largest steel importer, excluding the European Union, with a total of 26.2 million tons of steel imported in 2024, according to the Department of Commerce. Trump says he will double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50% The country that helped build Quebec's aluminum industry now threatens its survival While some industry experts questioned whether the tariffs would be implemented as stated, in light of Trump's previous reversals, they said uncertainty and climbing prices of the metals would dampen industrial activity. 'Higher prices are also likely to weigh further on U.S. steel demand from the manufacturing sector, which we already expect to contract this year,' said analyst Eoin Dinsmore at Goldman Sachs. The premium for consumers buying aluminum on the physical market in the United States jumped 54 per cent, while U.S. hot rolled coil steel climbed 7.4 per cent. Copper prices also surged as traders bet that Trump would impose hefty duties on the metal used in power and construction. U.S copper touched a near two-month peak, widening its premium over benchmark London prices. Germany's second-biggest steelmaker Salzgitter warned that Washington's tariff policy was dealing a severe blow to European industry. The U.S. accounted for around a fifth of European steel exports outside of the EU, according to Germany's steel association. 'The risk for the European market, as well as other regional markets, is that some of the trade flow could reroute,' said Bastian Synagowitz at Deutsche Bank. Analysts were skeptical whether the full force of the tariffs as announced on Friday would come into play. 'I think the final result will be far lower than initially projected, especially concerning its duration,' said Chelsea Ye, senior analyst at metals research firm McCloskey. Meanwhile, the tariff shift was applauded by U.S. producers of aluminum, used in transport, packaging and construction, who said the move would stop a 'flood' of imports. 'For decades, subsidized foreign producers have hollowed out domestic aluminum manufacturing,' said Mark Duffy, president of the American Primary Aluminum Association. Shares of U.S. steelmakers climbed in early Wall Street trading, with Nucor, Cleveland-Cliffs and Steel Dynamics surging between 11 per cent and 24 per cent. Shares of steelmakers fell in South Korea, which was the fourth-biggest exporter of steel to the U.S. last year, behind Canada, Mexico and Brazil, according to American Iron and Steel Institute data. South Korea's Industry Ministry said in a statement that it had held an emergency meeting with officials from the country's major steelmakers, including POSCO and Hyundai Steel . Shares of POSCO and Hyundai Steel fell 3 per cent, while those of South Korean peer SeAH Steel Corp tumbled 8 per cent. In Vietnam, steel companies Hoa Sen Group, Nam Kim Steel and Vietnam Steel Corp dropped between 2.7 per cent and 3.4 per cent. The 50 tariffs will add to the challenges facing Korean steel exporters, which have refrained from sharply boosting exports to the U.S. to avoid Washington's scrutiny, despite rising U.S. steel prices, an industry executive told Reuters. 'It will be a burden to exporting companies if there are no additional steel price increases in the U.S,' he told Reuters, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Steel and aluminum tariffs were among the earliest Trump imposed when he returned to office in January. Tariffs of 25 per cent on most steel and aluminum imported to the U.S. went into effect on March 12. South Korea, a major U.S. ally, has called for an exemption from tariffs on steel, autos and others items, during talks with the United States. Seoul agreed in late April to craft a trade package by the end of the 90-day pause on Trump's reciprocal tariffs in July, but it has been difficult for negotiators to make big decisions due to a political leadership vacuum ahead of elections on Tuesday. In late March, Hyundai Steel announced a plan to build a US$5.8-billion factory in Louisiana in response to U.S. tariffs, but the factory will not open until 2029. In April, Hyundai Steel's bigger rival POSCO signed a preliminary deal to make an equity investment in the factory project. In India, which relies heavily on the U.S. for aluminum exports, industry experts also warned of a major hit. 'This is going to have a detrimental impact,' B.K. Bhatia, director-general at the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, the country's leading mining body, told Reuters. 'The U.S. is the biggest market for Indian aluminum. Government has been negotiating so we are hopeful that with talks, the tariffs will come down.'
