Steel groups from Canada, Mexico, Europe call for tariff retaliation

Even with the details still unclear, the metals tariffs are troubling for the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA).

The Ottawa, Ontario-based trade group pointed to the 2018 tariffs during Trump 1.0 that caused huge disruptions and harm for both Canada and the US.

With their adjoining economies inextricably linked, Canada has been working to align its trade policy with the US. So, Trump’s “target of Canadian steel and aluminum is completely baseless and unwarranted,” according to CSPA President and CEO Catherine Cobden.

“We must retaliate immediately,” she said. “We are urgently demanding that the Government of Canada act again with resolve and purpose to combat this threat and ensure any measure taken against our sector is met with retaliatory measures and action to offset the devastating impacts tariffs would have on our sector and our workers.”

Algoma Steel CEO Michael Garcia called for reciprocal tariffs to be placed on all steel imports into Canada, not just steel made in the US. The Canadian steel industry has a chance if the government acts quickly on this, he said in an interview with CBC News.

Mexican steel industry wants reprisal too

Mexico’s steel sector isn’t happy with Trump’s actions, either.

According to Canacero, the US and Mexico had a steel trade balance of 2.3 million tons in favor of the US in 2024.

The tariffs are, therefore, unjustified, said the Mexico City-based chamber representing the country’s steel industry.

Canacero said the tariffs will seriously hurt the steel industry and North America’s entire metalworking supply chain.

If Mexico is not granted any exclusions, the association is calling for retaliation as well.

In light of Trump’s “unilateral decision, Canacero urges the Mexican government to take urgent trade defense measures to protect the national industry,” it said. “If the exclusion of Mexican steel from this measure is not achieved, it will be necessary to apply reciprocal reprisals on American steel products.”

Tariffs will further worsen European steel industry

Trump’s 25% blanket tariff will further worsen the already struggling European steel industry, according to Brussels-based Eurofer, which represents the European Union’s steel industry.

Eurofer said the EU could lose up to 3.7 million metric tons of steel exports to the US if all product exemptions and the current tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) are removed. And since the US is the second largest export market for European steel, “Losing a significant part of these exports cannot be compensated by EU exports to other markets,” Eurofer said.

“Additionally, this move risks causing new, significant trade flow deviations,” Eurofer commented. It said huge volumes that would have previously gone to the US risk being diverted into the European market.

Eurofer called for the tightening of the region’s current safeguard quota regime. Without it, “the deflection provoked by the new US steel tariffs will inevitably push EU steel capacity into additional idling and, ultimately, closure,” it warned.