{"id":309194,"date":"2025-11-27T00:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T00:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/309194\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T00:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T00:55:09","slug":"carney-announces-new-support-for-steel-and-lumber-industries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/309194\/","title":{"rendered":"Carney announces new support for steel and lumber industries"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA \u2014 Amid the ongoing trade war with the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a slate of new measures to help and protect the steel and lumber industries.<\/p>\n

Among the new measures is further limiting foreign steel imports from countries without a free trade agreement with Canada \u2014 from 50 to 20 per cent of 2024 levels \u2014 a measure largely aimed at reducing Chinese steel imports.<\/p>\n

The government will also reduce quotas for countries with which Canada has a free trade agreement \u2013 excluding the U.S. and Mexico \u2013 going from 100 per cent to 75 per cent of 2024 levels, and impose a global 25 per cent tariff on targeted imported products made from steel.<\/p>\n

Carney made the announcement in Ottawa on Wednesday, as trade talks with the U.S. remain stalled after the fallout over Ontario\u2019s anti-tariff ad last month.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mark Carney Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during an news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that this decades long process of our ever-closer economic relationship between Canada and the United States has ended, and as a consequence of that, many of our strengths have become our vulnerabilities, particularly in those industries that are most tightly integrated with the United States,\u201d Carney said while speaking to reporters from Parliament Hill.<\/p>\n

The federal government will also cut freight rates to ship steel and lumber across Canada by 50 per cent, starting next spring.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters earlier on Wednesday, government of Canada officials said the estimated fiscal cost of the measure is $146 million, based on previous costs.<\/p>\n

Other measures announced included implementing the Buy Canadian Policy later this year, which requires defence and construction contracts to prioritize Canadian materials, including steel and aluminum, along with a $500-million increase to the previously announced Softwood Lumber Development Program, which gives companies access to government-backed loans, totalling $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n

The federal government did not announce any new measures for the aluminum industry.<\/p>\n

In June, the U.S. increased its tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent, and in October, slapped an additional 10 per cent tariff on softwood lumber, increasing those levies from 35 to 45 per cent. There are also 25 per cent tariffs on some furniture and kitchen cabinet products.<\/p>\n

Canada, meanwhile, has 25 per cent counter-tariffs in place on steel and aluminum products originating from the United States.<\/p>\n

\"\"Carney press conference Prime Minister Mark Carney is seen during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld (Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press) Is a sectoral deal still in the works?<\/p>\n

Canada had already reduced quotas on foreign steel imports from non-free trade countries in July, from 100 per cent to 50 per cent, and has imposed a 25 per cent surtax on steel and aluminum goods that originate from China, with the latter being Canada\u2019s second-largest source of steel imports.<\/p>\n

When asked if he is concerned about potential retaliation from China \u2013 particularly at a moment when Canada and China are working to recalibrate the relationship \u2013 Carney said ongoing conversations with China \u201cwill continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve reengaged with China, and in a very positive way, and starting of a broader discussion of, amongst other things, our broader trading relationship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s announcement also comes one month after Carney told reporters that Canada \u201chad been making progress\u201d on affected sectors like steel and aluminum until U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly ended negotiations<\/a> with Canada over Ontario\u2019s ad.<\/p>\n

Government sources have also previously told CTV News that Canadian officials were hopeful there could be movement on a steel and aluminum deal by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea at the end of October.<\/p>\n

Asked whether Wednesday\u2019s new measures should be interpreted as a concession that there is no deal in the near future, Carney did not answer directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should interpret the announcement of this government will do whatever it takes to protect our sectors,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd not just protect them, but to help them reposition for the new global economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney, who campaigned during the federal election of standing up to Trump, previously missed a self-imposed deadline to reach a deal with the U.S. by July 21.<\/p>\n

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the prime minister for his \u201cbroken promises.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cConservatives believe in our workers. We want to protect steel, aluminum, lumber and other sectors. We want to negotiate a hard bargain to protect them and get them re-entry into the American market tariff-free,\u201d Poilievre said Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\"\"Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld Carney heading to Washington next week<\/p>\n

While speaking to reporters, Carney confirmed that he spoke to Trump on Tuesday and that he is going to Washington on Dec. 5 to attend the FIFA World Cup draw, where he could cross paths with the U.S. president.<\/p>\n

When pressed on whether he will talk to Trump about reengaging in negotiations, Carney said, \u201cI\u2019ll bring up with him what I bring up with him when I see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are points I do make to him. My exchange with the President yesterday was not newsworthy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Carney dodged questions on Sunday about the last time he spoke with Trump, saying \u201cwho cares?\u201d when pressed at his closing press conference at the G20 summit in South Africa.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, though, Carney admitted that comment was a \u201cmistake\u201d and called it a \u201cpoor choice of words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Measures \u2018absolutely essential\u2019 survival<\/p>\n

According to data released by Statistics Canada in October<\/a>, exports dropped by 7.5 per cent in the second quarter of this year as tariffs on sectors like steel continue to hit the economy.<\/p>\n

In his press conference, Carney said further limiting foreign steel imports from countries without a free trade agreement with Canada will open up more than $850 million \u201cin new domestic demand for Canadian steel,\u201d while reducing steel quotes from non-Canada-U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement (CUSMA) countries will bring in $540 million \u201cin additional market access.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federal government also announced it will end the temporary remission \u2013 or refunds \u2013 of Canadian tariffs on steel imports used in Canada for manufacturing, food and beverage packaging and agricultural production by the end of January 2026.<\/p>\n

The temporary remissions were put in place to help Canadian businesses deal with the early impacts of tariffs, but Carney says they would \u201conly hurt Canada\u2019s steel sector\u201d in the long term and prolong reliance on imports.<\/p>\n

Catherine Cobden, president and CEO at the Canadian Steel Producers Association, says the new measures are \u201cessential to help (the steel industry) survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so relieved with the announcements made today that were pertaining to the steel sector, because they really will help us pivot in the moment,\u201d Cobden said in an interview with CTV Power Play on Wednesday. \u201cThey will make an impactful change to the domestic market situation, taking a direct run at unfair trade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cobden also added that she believes \u201cfurther steps\u201d will be needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very evolving situation. There is literally no certainty things change regularly, particularly in our relationship with the United States,\u201d Cobden added.<\/p>\n

B.C. Lumber Trade Council president Kurt Niquidet, meanwhile, said while he appreciates the new support measures, a negotiated settlement with the U.S. \u201cstill needs to be the priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking to get a softwood lumber agreement with the U.S., and that is something we\u2019ll continue to work with the federal government on,\u201d Niquidet told CTV Power Play on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OTTAWA \u2014 Amid the ongoing trade war with the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[712,45,49,48,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-309194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}