“We can’t be kicked around any longer.” These words from Ontario Premier Doug Ford echo the sentiment of the vast majority in Canada as it faces a fresh onslaught of Trump tariffs. From June 4, the tariff on steel and aluminium doubled from 25% to 50%. President Trump made the announcement last week in Pittsburgh and signed an executive order on Tuesday.
Canada will be one of the most impacted countries because it is the largest supplier of steel and aluminium to the US. Almost 90% of these metals from Canada are exported to American companies, as per data from Statista. Canada’s steel constituted 22% of America’s total imports over the last year, according to the US International Trade Administration. Brazil, Mexico, and South Korea come next. China is America’s 10th-largest supplier of steel.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called the doubling of tariffs “unjustified and illegal” but pointed out it’s a global measure and not targeted at Canada alone. However, the timing of the tariff increase is also significant, coming just 10 days ahead of the G7 Summit hosted by Canada. Trump will be travelling to Kananaskis in Alberta for the summit.
How Canada Retaliated
In March, after the first round of tariffs on steel and aluminium, Canada used a dollar-by-dollar approach to levy reciprocal tariffs on $12.6 billion worth of aluminium products and $3 billion worth of steel products from the US, as well as additional imported US goods worth $14.2 billion. The list of additional products affected by counter tariffs included tools, computers and servers, display monitors, sports equipment, and cast-iron products, as per a statement by the Department of Finance, Canada.
Canada also filed an appeal against the US in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It argued that the measures, which terminate Canada’s exemption from additional duties on certain steel and aluminium products and increase duties on aluminium articles, were “inconsistent with US obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994″.
The Impact Is Heavy
Canada was already reeling under the impact of the 25% tariff on aluminium and steel. There were job losses as businesses were impacted. In March, the Canadian media had widely reported layoffs hitting people in the steel towns of Ontario. As many as 100 workers at Ivaco Rolling Mills were either laid off temporarily or permanently. The Canada Metal Processing Group had also indicated that they would be forced to cut their workforce due to the uncertainty caused by the tariffs and a possible plunge in demand.
The Metals Service Centre Institute reported that the Canadian steel shipments in April 2025 were down by over 16% compared to the same period last year, while aluminium shipments dropped even more, around 18% in comparison to April 2024.
To check these losses, Canada launched the Trade Impact Program, which would utilise $5 billion over two years to help exporters tap new markets for Canadian products. Canada has also anticipated harmful takeovers, so the federal government has updated the Investment Canada Act Guidelines to protect Canadian companies. The readout from the government in March said these steps were being “taken at a time when our economy is facing unprecedented challenges”.
Trump’s Case
Trump’s protectionist measures fly in the face of the global trade regime carefully crafted after World War II, of which the US was the main architect. Trump cites national security to justify his actions to protect the metal industry. He repeated this in Pittsburgh, saying that a robust steel industry is essential for a reliable supply for the defence industry. “We’re not going to have World War III. But if we ever had – I mean, steel is a business you have to have. If we ever had a war – if we ever had a war, you need steel. War with China. Oh, do you think they’ll keep selling us steel?” he said.
Trump claims that the 25% tariffs in the first round protected American steel mills from shutting down and prevented China from dumping its steel in the US. His administration has been stressing that the offshoots of the heavy tariffs would boost the domestic industry, increasing and protecting American jobs in the steel industry.
A Flawed Argument
While China is the world’s largest steel manufacturer and exporter, it is only the 10th-largest steel supplier to America. It supplied less than 2% steel to the US over the last year. Compare this to the 22% coming from Canada, and it becomes clear who is impacted more by this move.
Steel and aluminium tariffs have had an impact on American consumers as well. Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated that the Americans are already paying 16% more on any product that uses these metals. The rising cost of cars and building homes is an immediate and major fallout. Sports equipment and canned goods are some other products that are impacted by this measure.
Overall, for industry, tariffs create a non-competitive domestic environment, which can impact quality. Tariffs almost always attract retaliation. Canada has already taken some steps in this direction with counter tariffs on some $90 billion worth of goods from the US. Ontario, the province most impacted by the steel and aluminium tariffs, is pushing for more retaliatory measures.
For the moment, Carney has indicated that there will be no immediate measures from Canada because they are already in talks with the US on their trading relationship. However, he has stressed that they will “take some time, not too much time” to respond. All eyes are now firmly on the meeting between Carney and Trump at the G7 summit.
(Maha Siddiqui is a journalist who has extensively reported on public policy and global affairs.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
