August 14, 2019

Steel and aluminum trade between Canada and the U.S. slowly resuming

According to Statistics Canada the effect of the cancellation by the Canadian and the U.S. governments of their compensatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and other selected products were already visible in June. The two government lifted their tariffs on May 20, 2019. The had been in place since mid-2018.

In June 2019, the first full month following the end of the tariff period, Canadian exports of steel products to the United States that had been subject to tariffs increased 15.8%, while exports of previously tariffed aluminum products rose 47.2%.

On the import front, the movements were less pronounced. Imports of previously tariffed steel products from the United States increased 3.4% in June, while aluminum (-3.9%) and other selected products (-3.8%) both posted declines despite the elimination of tariffs on these goods.