Safeguards

Today, the Government is announcing its intent to enact final safeguards on these two categories of steel (heavy plate and stainless steel wire).

In response to the CITT ruling on five additional safeguards, the Government is announcing an intensive 30-day consultation with industry and workers, in order to determine what further protections are required. This working group will ensure that the views of workers and industry continue to be heard and are acted upon without delay.

In the next few weeks, the Government will take every legal action at its disposal to protect Canadian jobs and industry from unfair trade practices. New measures will include:

• Conducting a timely and targeted review of dumping cases to boost protections through higher duties to ensure Canadian companies are not at an unfair disadvantage with foreign competitors.
• The introduction of a more robust steel import regime with a view to strengthening import data, including product quantity, type and origin information. This would enhance Canada's ability to monitor import surges, assess evidence of transshipment and be more responsive to sudden changes in trading patterns.
• Greater flexibility for the Canada Border Services Agency to address price and cost distortions in foreign markets when determining whether dumping has occurred.
• In cooperation with industry, develop a framework to help guide the Canada Border Services Agency in determining when trade remedy actions should be self-initiated.
• Consult with stakeholders on the framework for remission of surtaxes imposed on imports from the U.S. in order to further incentivize the use of Canadian-made steel products.
• The Government will also ensure that support for domestic producers provided through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and its agencies is responsive to the evolving needs of steel and aluminum companies by making use of program flexibility.

This was excerpted from a 26 April 2019 notice from the Department of Finance.