The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) has called for swift action to protect Canada’s competitiveness and safeguard jobs in the face of rising offshore imports.
“Canadian steel producers are a critical component of the economy supporting workers and communities right across our country. At the very time we are investing in real action to reduce climate emissions by at least 6 million mt by 2030, we are losing market share to high carbon, offshore steel at an unprecedented rate,” said Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association.
According to the CSPA, since 2014 the share of imports into Canada have grown significantly, increasing from 19 percent to 39 percent in 2022. Canadian producers continue to be undercut by countries with a history of unfair trade practices. In 2022 alone, hundreds of thousands of tons of steel came from countries with active antidumping cases against them.
The Canadian steel industry continues to improve its carbon emissions and has announced transformative projects that will achieve more than 45 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Ms. Cobden said that the government should adopt an industrial strategy that is comprehensive in investment supports, prioritizes the use of today’s lower carbon steel, takes additional steps to further improve trade defenses, and maintains carbon pricing regimes in a manner that enable rather than threaten decarbonization investments in Canada.