OTTAWA — Canada on Thursday unveiled new quotas and tariffs aimed at thwarting the dumping of certain steel products, and convincing the Trump administration that it won’t be used as a back door for steel from China and other low-cost producers to enter the U.S.
The goal of the so-called safeguard measures is to prevent a surge of overseas steel imports from entering Canadian markets. Canada’s steel industry has complained in recent months that U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, imposed on national-security grounds and affecting most countries, have caused more shipments of cheap steel to be diverted to Canada from the U.S.
Beginning Oct. 25, seven steel products entering Canada will be subject to quotas that are based on the average volume of imports during the past three years, Canada’s finance department said. Imports that exceed those quotas will be subject to a 25% tariff.
The new measures could address concerns from the Trump administration that foreign companies are using Canada as a backdoor to move their metals into the U.S., trade watchers say. Canada is trying to convince the U.S. to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, which it imposed earlier this year on national-security grounds. Canada is the largest foreign supplier to the U.S. of both metals.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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