The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) is disappointed in the Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s (CITT) recommendation to impose safeguard measures on only two products – recommendations they see as a “significant departure” from the conclusions reached by the Minister of Finance.
“We are disappointed and concerned with the Tribunal’s recommendations. Since the temporary safeguards came into force, they have stabilized the Canadian steel market and limited the amount of steel that was being diverted to Canada,” said Catherine Cobden, President of the CSPA. “Furthermore, the continued surge of low-priced imports and deteriorating market conditions that have persisted following the conclusion of the CITT’s hearing were not considered and further supports the imposition of final safeguard measures.”
As the CITT’s recommendation is not binding on the Minister of Finance, the CSPA is urging the Minister to impose final safeguard measures on all seven steel products as recommended by the industry in order “to protect thousands of middle-class jobs” and more than $1.1 billion in planned investments.
“If the Minister of Finance does not put in place final safeguard measures on all seven products, the steel industry in Canada is threatened with job losses, significant community impacts, market share erosion, and growing investment uncertainty,” stated Cobden. “Furthermore, we see strong expectations from the US government that Canada will take every action necessary to keep artificially low-priced offshore steel out of North America.”
The CSPA states that Canada is one of the most trade exposed steel markets with the domestic steel industry facing significant pressure from disruptions in global steel markets caused by overcapacity, U.S. trade actions, and safeguard measures initiated by other countries.
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