Canada doubles counter-tariff on US steel to 50 percent, effective September 8
The Department of Finance Canada announced on August 25 that Canada willimpose counter-tarifts of 15, 25, and 50 percent on products drawn from those targeted by US Section 338 and Section 232 tarifs, with the rate on each product matching thecorresponding US rate. The measures take effect at 12:01 a.m. on September 8. 2026, cover CAD$27.6 bilion in imports from the US, and do not apply to US goods already in transit to Canada on that day.
In contrast to Mexico, who was negotiating the elements of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement before the renewal date of July 1, 2026, Canada was a late-comer to the conversation. With the three countries falling to renew the USMCA and theagreement now continuing on a year by year review, President Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose anadditional 50 percent tarif on certain Canadian goods, including USMCA-compliant goods. The three categories of goods that were cited alleging Canadian discrimination were motor vehicles, dairy, and alcoholic beverages.
Though President Trump would state on August 18 that a deal was reached with Canada for a mutual trade agreement subiect tothe finalization of documents, talks collapsed a few days later and the additional Section 338 duties took effect. Section 338 didnot touch or change existing Section 232 duties on steel. Though it could be stacked, Section 338 duties cover products notcovered by the tariffs on steel. The sum total was the breaking point for Canada that then pledged to match the new tarifts dollarfor dollar and did so on virtually allitems the US imposed tarifts on. Critically for steel, this increased the Canadian tariff on US steel to 50% up from 25%.
The potential impact on the US steel industy can be seen by the effects of past actions. Canada is the second-largest destination for US steel exports after Mexico. US mills shipped 2.55 million mt of steel to Canada in 2025, down 28.1 percent from 3.55 milionmt in 2024, a loss of nearly 1 million mt. The decline was more than double Mexico's 12 percent drop over the same period andwellahead of the 19.3 percent fallin total US steel exports woridwide. Canada's share of US steel exports slipped to 37.3 percentfrom 41.8 percent. Monthly volumes fell sharply after Canada's 25 percent counter-tarif took effect on March 13, 2025, dropping from 260,155 mt in March to 165,308 mt in April and never returning to the March level.
It can only be expected that the September 8 increase to 50 percent will push volumes down further.
From: Berk Arslan, Steel Orbis, 27 AUG 2026, https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/canada-doubles-counter-tariff-on-us-steel-to-50-percent-effective-september-8-1473263.htm.
Contact Us
Fax:
+86-571-88230113
Address:
28F, Building A, Chengxing International Building, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, China
