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CSPA, USW say Canadian government's steel action 'falls short'

June 20, 2025

The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) and the United Steelworkers (USW) union in Canada have said they were disappointed by the country’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarks regarding steel and aluminum tariffs on Thursday.

“Our initial reaction to the Government of Canada’s plan … is that it falls short of what our industry needs at this most challenging time,” the two groups said in a joint statement.

The groups said they will continue to review the details of the measures and “work constructively with the federal government to get a plan that works for Canadian steel producers and the thousands of workers that make up our sector.”

The letter was written by Catherine Cobden, CSPA president and CEO, and Marty Warren, the USW’s national director for Canada.

As SMU reported on Thursday, Carney laid out plans for stricter controls on imported steel and aluminum, including the roll-out of tariff-rate quota, or soft quota, system, among other things.

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.