Support for Canada's battered steel industry expected as Carney lowers hopes for tariff-free trade deal

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 16, 2025 10:46 AM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to denote enactment for the Canadian alloy industry, which has been clobbered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, astatine an lawsuit successful Hamilton, Ont., aboriginal this morning.

A spokesperson with his bureau said the announcement volition interaction Canadian steelworkers and the manufacture astatine large. 

In March, Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs connected the Canadian alloy and aluminum sectors, citing nationalist information concerns. He hiked the tariffs to 50 per cent successful June.

Canada's alloy manufacture says the consequences person been severe. 

Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said Tuesday there's already been a 30 per cent driblet successful alloy accumulation since Trump archetypal imposed his metals tariff.

"We volition simply not beryllium anymore successful arsenic beardown a mode arsenic we bash today," she said. "We are connected the downward slope." 

The alleviation announcement comes a time aft Carney suggested Canadians whitethorn person to judge immoderate tariffs arsenic portion of a caller statement with the United States.

Carney says woody without immoderate tariffs is unlikely

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill connected Tuesday, Carney — who campaigned during the outpouring predetermination connected securing a woody with Trump — said successful French that each of Trump's commercialized agreements to this constituent person included immoderate tariffs.

The Liberal person said "there's not a batch of grounds close now" that the U.S. is consenting to chopped a deal without immoderate tariffs included. Trump's commercialized statement with the U.K., for example, includes a 10 per cent baseline tariff.

"We are truly not funny successful a baseline tariff," said Cobden. 

WATCH | Carney expects tariffs to beryllium portion of U.S. commercialized deal: 

Carney did not say how the authorities volition respond if they stay successful spot aft the Aug. 1 deadline.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet took aim, accusing Carney of backpedalling. 

"He has renounced and made compromises connected galore things truthful acold without achieving thing successful the delays helium himself has created and announced," helium told reporters connected Parliament Hill Wednesday.

"He should ne'er person said helium volition reconstruct the afloat escaped commercialized agreement; he should not person said that due to the fact that present helium has to admit his ain failure."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Tuesday Carney's tariff remarks were "another unilateral concession from a antheral who said helium would ne'er backmost down to the U.S. president." 

Poilievre was besides captious of Carney's determination precocious past period to scrap the digital services taxation (DST) — a determination Trump demanded to proceed commercialized negotiations.

The Conservative accused Carney of putting his "elbows down" by cancelling the taxation targeting ample exertion firms "at the 11th hour."