By Divya Rajagopal
TORONTO (Reuters) -Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday said Canada will introduce a tariff rate quota for countries with which it has free trade agreements, excluding the United States, to protect the domestic steel industry.
Canada will also implement additional tariffs of 25% on steel imports from all non-U.S. countries containing steel melted and poured in China before the end of July.
Carney is responding to complaints from the domestic industry, which had said other countries are diverting steel to Canada and making the domestic industry uncompetitive due to U.S. tariffs.
The Canadian steel industry had asked the government to introduce tougher anti-dumping measures to protect the domestic industry. U.S. President Donald Trump increased import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25% earlier this month. Canada is the top seller of steel to the United States.
Carney also said domestic steel companies would be prioritized in government procurement and introduced a C$1 billion fund to help steel companies advance projects in industries such as defence.
“These measures will ensure Canadian steel producers are more competitive by protecting them against trade diversion resulting from a fast-changing global environment for steel,” Carney said on Wednesday.
(Divya Rajagopal and Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Caroline Stauffer)
