HAMILTON–The Carney Liberals launched a $100-million rebate program on Monday to help Canadian steelmakers sell more product at home, as Ottawa stares down a looming deadline to avert a fresh wave of American tariffs.
At a CN rail yard in Hamilton, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the federal program will provide a 50 per cent rebate on rail and marine transportation costs for Canadian steel shipped across provincial and territorial lines.
The temporary program is one of the Liberal government’s attempts to alleviate more than a year of trade pain that has seen the White House target a range of strategic sectors, including imposing tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Canadian steel in the name of national security.
“We will defend this industry to the very end, and we will make sure that this industry not only survives, but thrives and prospers,” MacKinnon said.
The minister was less definitive about his expectations ahead of an Aug. 19 cut-off to reach a comprehensive trade deal that addresses the sectoral tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed on steel, autos, aluminum and other industries. That’s the date by which Trump plans to unleash 50 per cent tariffs on a wide swath of Canadian goods covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade pact, an agreement the White House refused earlier this summer to extend.
“This is a response to these extremely unfair, unjustified tariffs that are obviously the object and the subject of intense negotiations that are going on right now in Washington,” MacKinnon told reporters.
The minister deferred questions on the state of the talks to Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who has recently spent time in Washington, D.C. with Canada’s lead trade negotiator Janice Charette. LeBlanc will return to the American capital later this week, while Charette has remained on the ground, a spokesperson for LeBlanc told the Star.
The rebate program launched Monday and is slated to expire next summer, or until funds dry up. A single steelmaker is able to receive a maximum amount of $50 million through the program, which will disburse funds on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We’ll see how the take-up goes,” MacKinnon said, when asked what happens if the money is accounted for before a year is up. “Supporting the steel sector in one form or another will be something that we will continue to evaluate and continue to adjust as we go along. We’ll see how this works out.”
Ron Bedard, the CEO of Hamilton steel producer ArcelorMittal Dofasco, said he has no doubt the funding envelope will be exhausted.
“When I heard the minister talk about $100 million, we will use all of that $100 million,” Bedard said.
Marty Warren, the head of the United Steelworkers in Canada, said the program helps remedy interprovincial trade barriers — something Prime Minister Mark Carney has sought to reduce since he came to power last year.
Warren said such rebate programs, while temporary, would help boost the domestic steel market and discourage provinces from sourcing steel overseas due to lower shipping costs.
“Whether we need to learn from this first program and then enhance it and grow it will be a step down the road. But ultimately, I think what we all need is a good trade deal,” Warren said.
Much hinges on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations, with the Star reporting last week that both sides are honing in on a comprehensive deal, with talks focusing on Canada making concessions on a list of trade irritants, including provincial policies, in exchange for tariff relief.
The new round of tariffs Trump threatened last month — which are separate from the Section 232 tariffs imposed on steel and other strategic sectors — were spurred by a range of “discriminatory” Canadian actions, the White House said, including many provinces halting the sale of American booze, Canada’s treatment of U.S dairy, and Ottawa’s retaliation against U.S. auto tariffs.
Two sources told the Star on the condition they not be named that Ottawa is open to compromising on the alcohol boycott and other protectionist policies to secure partial relief on tariffs hitting key sectors.
“No more caving, no more unilateral concessions without any gains in return,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in Quebec on Monday. “Use our leverage at the table to get the win that Mark Carney promised during the last election.”
Last Wednesday, the American president claimed the U.S. had been “screwed by tariffs,” including from Canada, prompting Trump to call his country’s northern neighbour — and its leadership — “nasty.”
“Look, there’s been a lot said. I’m sure more will be said by different parties in this negotiation,” MacKinnon told the Star following Monday’s announcement.
“But if by ‘nasty’ that means defending Canada passionately and doing things like we’re doing today, then sure,” the minister said, about whether the adjective was befitting the nature of the talks.
With files from Stephanie Taylor
