Prime Minister Mark Carney visited New York in September and gave
a speech outlining how Canada can survive this changing world.
The trade war with the United States is bringing big adjustments to big sectors, he said.
And he cited steel as his first example.
Today, it's pretty clear steel is at or at least
very near the center of a lot of global trade tensions.
This is easy to forget because most of us aren't buying
raw steel on any kind of regular basis.
But go back to October 2024.
Canada announced a 100% tariffs on Chinese made electric vehicles.
What's almost a footnote to that announcement is Chinese steel also faced 25% tariffs.
Since then, tariffs have only escalated around the world.
In March, US President Donald Trump put 25% tariffs on foreign steel.
Canada retaliates with 25% tariffs on US steel.
Now there's some debate about loopholes and
whether the Canadian tariffs should be stronger or not.
But there's no question steel remains front and center because in June
Trump returns and he increases tariffs on steel from all countries to 50%.
That same month, Canada comes out and announces new quotas on steel imports.
And then one month later,
again in July, it tightened those quotas,
saying countries that lack a free trade agreement can only
bring in half of the steel they sent to Canada in 2024.
Above that 50% duties kicked in.
This week, there have been reports that the European Union may put 50% tariffs on steel.
This all speaks to how essential steel is to the modern economy and to national security.
China has been sending more and more steel into the country.
It's doubled its exports since 2020,
and last year it exported more steel than Canada,
the US and Mexico produced on a combined basis.
Going back to Carney's speech in New York,
he said the great power rivalry is intensifying meaning between the US and China,
and it's fair to say that tensions from that rivalry are
spilling over into the steel sector and changing trading patterns.