One year later: Canadian steel producers desperate for Trump tariff relief

Annie Bergeron-Oliver examines the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs on Canada's steel industry, one year later.

The association representing Canada’s primary steel producers is hopeful the ongoing CUSMA negotiations will bring an end to punishing U.S. steel tariffs.

Exactly one year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump implemented a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and aluminum products. The tariff was increased to 50 per cent in June 2025.

President and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association Catherine Cobden says it has been a “very tough” year for the steel industry.

“Tariffs have been at 50 per cent for most of that year,” she said. “Obviously, that is a very devastating situation for the industry.”

Cobden said that before the tariffs took effect, Canada’s primary steel industry sent approximately six million tonnes of steel to the United States. That number has now dropped by about half with Canadian producers pivoting to focus on supplying customers and suppliers at home.

“Many companies understand that the U.S. will never return in the manner that it was, but it’s a question of time,” she said. “It’s going to take a long time to offset the loss of the U.S. market. So, we really hope we can get access to the U.S. market back.”

Ontario’s Algoma Steel’s fourth-quarter report showed shipments down 31 per cent as the company continued to grapple with the U.S. tariffs. Rajat Marwah, CEO of the major steel producer, said that the “extreme tariff” environment remains the defining challenge for the steel industry.

“The unprecedented 50 per cent tariff implemented in June fundamentally broke the cross-border business model that Canadian producers, including Algoma, had built over decades,” Marwah told analysts on a conference call Thursday.

The Sault Ste. Marie-based steel producer reported a net loss of $364.7 million in its fourth quarter and reported that its direct tariff costs totalled $60.6 million in the fourth quarter.

“It’s an illustrative example of the pain that the industry has been going through as we try to unravel, if you will, 30 years of integration with the United States,” Cobden said when asked about Algoma’s fourth quarter report.

But it’s not just primary steel producers who are feeling the pinch.

Ottawa’s Ambico Limited manufactures specialized steel doors, frames and windows. The company’s products are CUSMA compliant and not subject to the punishing tariffs on products including rebar, pipes, plates and rolls. These have been imposed under Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that aims to protect U.S. national security.

However, the company has seen its input costs increase as steel costs in both the United States and Canada have increased, and demand for Canadian steel products has become more unpredictable.

“There are additional costs,” says Jack Shinder, CEO of Ambico Limited. “We probably suffered in the vicinity of half a million dollars of cash that we’ve had to pay unexpectedly.”

Shinder says the company has had to work harder to maintain its long-standing relationship with American customers and has increased its efforts to sell to customers in Europe. Shinder says Ambico Limited has also made more of an effort to buy Canadian steel to not only help Canadian producers, but to avoid paying Canadian counter-tariffs on steel made in the U.S.

“The U.S. has not been able to keep up with the production of steel, so the American steel suppliers have raised their prices. The whole market has gone up by about the cost of the tariff,” he said.

Shinder says the biggest challenge over the last year has been the unpredictability of it all. While his products are not subject to the Section 232 tariffs, he fears that could change any day.

“Our cycle times are about 12 to 18 months, so anything I sell today at the beginning of March, I probably won’t ship that product until June or July 2027,” he said. “I have no idea what, if any, tariffs are going to look like in that time period.”

Like many in the industry, Shinder is hopeful CUSMA negotiations will help producers and manufacturers across the steel industry.

“When we look at how our business is going to grow, as it has over the last 70 years, we’re not prepared to build a new plant here in Ottawa, although we’ve kind of outgrown this plant here in the east end of the city, until we have more certainty in the marketplace,” Shinder said.

What is the government saying?

Minister of International Trade Dominic LeBlanc would not stop to take questions from reporters before cabinet on Thursday, but Industry Minister Mélanie Joly did.

Asked to provide an update on CUSMA negotiations as they relate to steel, Joly said she has been in contact with different steel plants across the country including Algoma and Dofasco.

“When it comes to steel, our goal right now is to make sure that we help our steel workers. That’s what we’ve been doing,” she said. “We have a good plan.”

Joly, however, would not elaborate on that plan and when asked about lifting the existing steel tariffs, she referred all questions to LeBlanc.