In a decisive move to protect its domestic steel market, the government of Canada has announced new tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on certain steel imports from countries that do not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with Canada. The quotas took effect on June 27, 2025, and apply to five main steel product categories: flat, long, pipe, semi-finished, and stainless steel. The Canadian government stated that this measure is intended to prevent the harmful diversion of foreign steel into the Canadian market amid changing global trade dynamics.
The quotas will be allocated quarterly, and each product category has a maximum quota share per country, to avoid over-reliance on any single supplier.
The quota volumes allocated for the five product categories can be seen at the table below.
| Product | Quota for each quarterly period (mt) | Maximum share of total quota per country (%) |
| Flat | 186,856 | 36 |
| Long | 178,512 | 28 |
| Pipe | 117,406 | 47 |
| Semi-finished | 152,383 | 72 |
| Stainless | 5,568 | 91 |
Imports from non-FTA countries, such as China, India, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, that exceed the quota volume will be subject to an additional 50 percent tax, on top of existing surtaxes or any antidumping and countervailing duties as well as forthcoming tariff measures based on the country of “melt and pour” origin for steel. The quotas will be reviewed within 30 days to ensure their relevance and effectiveness considering evolving market circumstances, and future reviews will be conducted periodically.