Canada to exempt tariffs on some imported aluminium and steel from US

Canada seemed to have been all ears to the tariff exemption request from the construction industry in British Columbia in November. British Columbia is the westernmost province in Canada that depends primarily on imported metal. On Wednesday, December 19, Canada reportedly announced that it would exclude some aluminium and steel imported from the US from its newest tariffs and quotas.

The government said it would also give additional relief to some companies that have contractual obligations. In Canada, automakers frequently buy US steel under contract and distribute among Canadian suppliers as well as feed their own plants. However, it was not immediately clear which companies would be affected.

Canada also said on Wednesday that it would give relief for steel product imports that were in transit before October 25, as requested by the construction industry.

In October, the Canadian government had announced quotas and tariffs on seven categories of steel imported from most countries outside the US.

All these quotas and tariffs by Canada were the retaliatory measures against the US as the Trump administration had imposed additional duties on Canadian imports of aluminium and steel on July 1, 2018.

Canada is the single largest supplier of both aluminum and steel to the United States. Washington worries that nations could try to ship supplies through Canada and pretend the metals had been produced in Canadian facilities.