09:44 AM EDT, 05/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Canada is providing additional financing to the country's battered manufacturers to help cushion the blow from President Trump's overhaul last month of metals tariffs, The Wall Street Journal is reporting Monday.

Canada has put aside C$1.5 billion, or the equivalent of US$1.10 billion, to help certain tariff-hit sectors, The WSJ report said. The bulk of the money will be managed by state-owned Business Development Bank of Canada, and the government said the lender will offer loans at favorable terms to companies that manufacture and export products containing steel, aluminum and copper, it added.

This is in response to Trump's decision last month to slap a 25% tariff on imported finished products that use foreign metals as inputs, the report said. That 25% tariff applies alongside a 50% tariff on foreign steel, aluminum and copper that enters the U.S., it added.

"We are taking concrete action to strengthen Canada's economy by standing behind our steel, aluminum and copper industries," said Melanie Joly, Canada's industry minister.

Canadian officials have said that relief from hefty tariffs on specific sectors, like steel and aluminum, are required for any deal between Ottawa and Washington related to the renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade treaty, the report noted.

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