Steel Products

Canada announces remission process for Chinese steel tariffs

October 21, 2024

The Canadian government announced a remission process for businesses seeking relief from the recently announced tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products and electric vehicles.

“To ensure that Canadian industry has sufficient time to adjust supply chains, remission will provide relief from the payment of surtaxes, or the refund of surtaxes already paid, under specific and exceptional circumstances,” the Department of Finance Canada explained in a statement on Friday.

“The government is ensuring Canadian workers and businesses are not unduly burdened by surtaxes on imports from China,” it added.

It further noted that remission won’t be granted for goods intended for resale in the same condition in the US.

Circumstances where remission would be considered include:

“Situations where goods used as inputs, or substitutes for those goods, cannot be sourced either domestically or reasonably from non-Chinese sources;
Where there are contractual requirements, existing prior to Aug. 26, 2024, requiring Canadian businesses to purchase Chinese inputs into their products or projects for a specified period of time; and,
Other exceptional circumstances, on a case-by-case basis, that could have significant adverse impacts on the Canadian economy.”

Collection of the 25% tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products begins on Oct. 22, while the 100% tariffs on EVs started on Oct. 1.

Recall that earlier this month, China challenged the tariffs at the WTO.

Canadian steel, aluminum trade groups weigh in

The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) and the Aluminum Association of Canada (AAC) took a cooperative tone regarding remissions as long as they are applied judiciously.

“The Canadian steel and aluminum industries will continue working with the government to ensure a remission process that maintains the effectiveness of this critical tariff regime and that only applies in well-documented and unique circumstances,” the groups said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.