After Canada launched retaliatory steel import tariffs against the US in response to the US’ Section 232 tariffs against Canadian steel, the Canadian steel industry has had to contend with the impact of paying higher prices for US steel. In addition, the Canadian government is concerned that other countries subject to the US’ Section 232 tariffs will “divert” material to Canada. To prevent against a flood of steel imports into the Canadian steel market, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) is looking into applying import safeguards. However, this has left the Canadian domestic rebar market saddled with uncertainty.
On the West coast, where buyers used to be reliant on competitive imports from the US, SteelOrbis has heard rebar prices in the current range of CAD 1,000-1,100/mt ex-mill. On the East coast, more import options from Europe have placed domestic rebar prices in the range of CAD 890-930/mt ex-mill. And in the more isolated Prairie regions, prices have been heard in the range of CAD 950-1,000/mt ex-mill.
While safeguards, if implemented, are expected to increase import prices—and domestic prices in turn—sources tell SteelOrbis that in the absence of a decision in the near-term, imports won’t have as much impact on the market for much longer, at least for East coast and Prairie region buyers. The annual closing of the St. Lawrence Seaway means importers must place orders by mid-October for imports to arrive before the Seaway closes in early December, and until it reopens in early April 2019, sources say domestic Canadian rebar prices will remain high.