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Steel dumping from Europe and Asia impacts Canadian

competitiveness

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Canada's steel industry faces potential mass layoffs

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Finance Ministry defends measures as strategic and

comprehensive

By Divya Rajagopal and Promit Mukherjee

TORONTO, June 27 (Reuters) - Canadian steel industry

representatives told government officials in a meeting this week

that their measures to protect the industry from the

consequences of U.S. tariffs are insufficient, two of the

representatives who attended the meeting told Reuters.

On Thursday, steel producers met with Patrick Haley, assistant

deputy minister for trade and finance, and other officials from

the ministry, telling them the measures announced earlier this

month do not protect the industry from steel dumping and could

cause mass layoffs, the representatives said.

U.S. President Donald Trump increased import duties on steel and

aluminum to 50% from 25% earlier this month. Canada is the top

seller of metals to the United States.

In response, Canada announced a raft of measures, including

establishing new tariff-rate quotas of 100% of 2024 levels on

imports of steel products from non-free trade agreement

partners.

Industry representatives at the meeting asked the government to

extend tariff quotas to all countries with unfair trade

practices, even if they have free trade agreements. Europe and

Asia have started diverting their products to Canada to avoid

U.S. tariffs, making domestic steel uncompetitive, they said.

"We don't think the measures announced meet our needs under this

dire time," Catherine Cobden, President and CEO of the Canadian

Steel Producers Association, told Reuters. Cobden attended the

meeting with finance ministry officials on Thursday.

The Canadian Steel Producers Association said in a separate

statement on Thursday that, in its current form, the tariff-rate

quota will do little to support its industry.

Canada's steel industry has laid off 1,000 workers since the

first U.S. tariffs in March, and more layoffs could be coming,

the association said.

Keanin Loomis, president of the Canadian Institute of Steel

Construction, which includes steel manufacturers, fabricators,

and constructors, said that Thursday's government meeting was

heavily steel producers-focused, noting that finished steel

products imported to Canada have no tariff protection. Loomis

also attended the meeting.

In a text response to Reuters, the Canadian Finance Ministry

said that the measures it announced represent a comprehensive

and strategic package to defend producers and workers, and were

a first step.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has threatened to increase

counter-tariffs on U.S.-produced steel and aluminum if Canada

does not reach a broader trade deal with Trump by July 21. Trump

on Friday abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its new

tax targeting U.S. technology firms.

"These are temporary and calibrated measures that could be

expanded depending on the outcome of ongoing discussions with

the United States. We are prepared to adjust our response as

needed," a spokesperson for the finance minister said.