U.S. tariffs could ‘put us over the edge,’ says Canadian steel group

Keanin Loomis of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, says doubling steel and aluminium tariffs would add further strain on Canada-U.S. relations.

An industry leader from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction says a plan is needed to confront the impacts of U.S. trade actions on Canadian steel and aluminum.

In March, the U.S. placed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, with Canada then enforcing a 25 per cent retaliatory tariff on American steel.

The U.S. doubled its tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 per cent in June.

Canada also has a 25 per cent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum.

Recently, the federal government announced that some steel and aluminum from China and the U.S. would be exempt from Canadian tariffs.

Keanin Loomis, president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, says with anxiety and fear of job losses in the industry, retaliation is important.

“We do have to stay strong and certainly exact as much pain as we can from the United States on this, but certainty we need a plan,” Loomis told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

“We need to have a real focus on domestic procurement while we’re trying to maintain our access to the U.S. markets. We need to know that projects that are being done here, infrastructure dollars that are being spent here, especially taxpayer dollars that are being spent here, are using Canadian fabricators and Canadian steel to the best extent possible.”

In May, federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly wrote in a post on X that Canada is fighting the current tariffs with retaliatory ones, stating: “Our steel and aluminum workers and businesses deserve no less than our full commitment.”

Loomis says the impacts of the U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum have been felt in the industry.

“I know that many of the steel producers in Canada have been really adamant to not lay off parts of their workforce, and thus far, we haven’t seen a lot,” he said. “But this might be the thing that puts us over the edge and calls into question the short to mid-term sustainability of our operations.”

Loomis says he is continuing to talk to U.S. counterparts, but the change will have to come from the U.S.

“Many (Americans) do not agree with this,” he said. “Everybody in the U.S. knows that tariffs are attacks, (and) really only a couple entities, these are steel producers in the U.S. who have outsized influence with the Trump administration, ... are going to be benefitting from this, at the expense of the rest of the U.S. and Canadian economy.”

“The change is going to come from the inside. It’s hard for us as Canada to exert the type of pressure that we need, but (we can) help Americans wake up to the fact that this is punishing them as much as it is us.”