Canada may put new tariff ff ff ff ff ffs and quotas on steel imports

Justin Trudeau’s government is taking a key step toward imposing potential new tariffs and quotas on certain steel imports, with his finance chief saying a surge in foreign steel may be disrupting the market.

Finance Minister BillMorneau announced a 15-day consultation on potential safeguard measures on seven types of steel imports. The provisional measures would be appliedif the consultation shows producers are being harmed, Morneau saidTuesday, signaling there’s already evidence that’s happening.

“We have seen increases in imports; that’s an important reasonwhywehave comeforward today,” Morneau said at Hamilton, Ontario-based ArcelorMittal Dofasco. Secondquarter trade data from Statistics Canada showa spike in shipments fromcountries like Brazil, India, Turkey and Germany. “That surge leads us to be concerned that we need to consider what measures to take.”

Canada will now consider whether additional products beyond the seven should be added.

The moves would be part of the impact fromPresident DonaldTrump’s trade battles, which resulted in U.S. tariff ff ff ff ff ffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum that were imposedonCanada, the European Union and other nations in June.

The seven classes of imports subject to potential provisional measures announced Tuesday are:

■ Steel plate, usedinheavy machinery and transportation manufacturing;

■ Rebar, used heavily in construction;

■ Energytubular products, used in oil and gas exploration, extraction and transmission;

■ Hot-rolled sheet, used in construction and the auto sector, among others;

■ Pre-painted steel, used in construction, industrial packaging and appliance manufacturing;

■ Stainless steel wire, used in manufacturing of pins, nails, springs, fifilters and conveyor belts; and

■ Wire rod, used in manufacturing of automotive and industrial components, wires, springs, fasteners and nails.