Steel Products

Quebec Offering Aid to Small Companies Hit by U.S. Metals Tariffs

June 12, 2018

Quebec will lend a helping hand to smaller Canadian companies in the aluminum and steel industry that will suffer from the Section 232 tariffs imposed by the United States.

The province will offer C$100 million ($77.1 million U.S.) in loans and guarantees on loans after companies reported that contracts were being canceled by customers unwilling to pay the tariffs.

Economy Minister Dominique Anglade said the metal industry was hit quicker by the tariffs than the lumber industry was last year when the U.S. imposed tariffs on softwood lumber.

The program will benefit small to medium-sized fabricators of aluminum and steel products. Big companies, like aluminum manufacturer Alcoa, have higher margins and are better able to absorb costs as large producers of metals, said Jean Simard, president of the Aluminum Association of Canada.

{loadposition reserved_message}