Canada’s steelmakers are calling on the government to support the industry

The share of offshore imports to the country increased by 20% from 2014 to 2022

The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) has called on the Canadian federal government to act quickly to protect the competitiveness of the country’s steel industry and save jobs. It is atetd in the organization’s press release.

The association draws attention to the growth of offshore imports into Canadian steel markets, as well as the actions of the country’s key partners to support their industry in the global race to attract climate investment.

According to Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of CSPA, Canadian steel producers are a critical component of the economy of the country. She highlighted that at the very time Canadian producers are investing in real action to reduce climate emissions by at least 6 million tonnes by 2030, we are losing market share to high carbon, offshore steel at an unprecedented rate.

According to the association’s statement, offshore imports to Canada have grown significantly, with their market share increasing from 19% in 2014 to 39% in 2022. Canadian producers still lose out to countries that have engaged in unfair trade practices in the past.

In addition, the CSPA notes that governments in the US and other countries are actively moving to attract climate investment and industry support.

“To remain competitive and build on our climate leadership, we are calling on the government to adopt an industrial strategy that is comprehensive in investment supports, prioritizes the use of today’s lower carbon steel, takes additional steps to further improve our trade defences, and maintains carbon pricing regimes in a manner that enable rather than threaten decarbonization investments in Canada,” noted Catherine Cobden.

Steel producers in Canada have made eight detailed recommendations to the Government of Canada for Budget 2023 to respond to the competitiveness challenges brought on by high carbon imports and the global race to attract climate investment.

The Canadian Steelmakers Association represents the Canadian steel and pipe industry.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the US has announced that it will direct $6 billion in grants to accelerate decarbonization projects in energy-intensive industries such as steel, aluminum and cement production. At the same time, Germany intends to launch an emissions reduction subsidy program for industry in April 2023.

Also, EU leaders in February 2023 agreed that they must allow targeted, temporary and proportionate support to secure Europe’s future as a producing base for clean technologies and counter competition from the US and China. In particular, the European Commission proposed to relax the rules of state aid for investments in renewable energy, decarbonization of industry or vehicles with zero emissions.