Unlock the Editor’s Digest totally free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will impose measures to counter the oversupply of metal and aluminium imports and should enhance levies on the US, as more and more protectionist measures are deployed within the world tariff battle over essential industrial inputs.
Carney on Thursday mentioned Canada had imposed 100 per cent tariffs on non-US metal and aluminium imports and on July 21 would “adjust” its 25 per cent counter-tariffs on the 2 metals imported from the US primarily based on talks with Washington. The transfer comes after US President Donald Trump’s “catastrophic” doubling of tariffs on Canadian metal and aluminium earlier this month.
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s finance minister, mentioned the quotas have been launched to “stabilise the domestic market and prevent harmful trade diversion as the result of the US actions that are destabilising markets”.
Carney added: “Steel from other countries, from third countries, starts to come into Canada if we don’t protect our industry, so we are setting these quotas.” The anti-dumping measures are in all probability geared toward China, on which Canada already has a 25 per cent surtax on imports of metal and aluminium.
Ottawa would additionally begin shopping for Canadian metal and aluminium for home infrastructure initiatives, defence spending and the automotive trade, the prime minister mentioned.
“Steel and aluminium workers are on the frontline of this trade crisis, these are the workers who will help us build one strong Canadian economy,” Carney mentioned in Ottawa.
On Monday, in the course of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Carney met Trump to debate a brand new financial and safety partnership. “We agreed to pursue negotiations towards a deal within the coming 30 days,” the prime minister posted on X on Monday afternoon.
Trump on June 4 launched 50 per cent tariffs on imports of metal and aluminium to the US, rising the 25 per cent fee utilized in March.
On the time, Canada’s metal trade described the doubling of the tariff as “catastrophic” for a sector that confronted widespread job losses and manufacturing shutdowns.
Canada is the most important provider of the 2 metals to the US, accounting for practically 1 / 4 of US metal imports in 2023 and about half of aluminium imports final 12 months.
The metal sector is a C$15bn (US$11bn) trade that employs 23,000 folks and helps a further 100,000 oblique jobs, in accordance with the Canadian Metal Producers Affiliation.
Carney mentioned he was in contact with Trump “frequently on a range of issues” and these newest measures would hold the metal trade afloat whereas Ottawa negotiates a brand new commerce cope with the White Home.
“A 25 per cent tariff is difficult, but a 50 per cent one is catastrophic,” mentioned Catherine Cobden, president of the CPSA, earlier this month.
