Canada Announces New Measures to Protect Steel and Lumber Industries

On November 26, 2025, the Government of Canada announced comprehensive new measures to safeguard and expand the domestic steel and lumber sectors in response to ongoing U.S. trade challenges. These strategic actions include new tariffs, limits on foreign imports, and targeted support for Canadian producers. The initiative aims to strengthen Canadian industries, boost domestic demand, and enhance global competitiveness through financial aid, transport cost reductions, and homebuilding initiatives. This announcement builds on previous government efforts to support tariff-affected sectors.

‍Further limit foreign steel imports to ensure that Canadian steel producers have better access to the domestic market.

Reduced tariff rate quotas include the following:

• Effective December 26, 2025, tariff rate quotas for countries that do not have a free trade agreement with Canada will be reduced from 50% to 20% of 2024 levels, with over-quota volumes continuing to face a 50% surtax.
• Effective December 26, 2025, tariff rate quotas for countries that have a free trade agreement in force with Canada will be reduced from 100% to 75% of 2024 levels, with over-quota volumes continuing to face a 50% surtax. Canada will continue to honour its existing CUSMA carve-out. As such, the United States and Mexico will continue to be exempted from this requirement.
• Effective December 26, 2025, Canada will apply a 25% tariff on the full value of listed steel derivative products from all countries. This measure will apply initially to a list of steel derivative products produced in Canada. This list may be periodically updated to reflect changes in market conditions. The initial, carefully selected list is expected to apply to over $10 billion in steel derivative imports. It will cover derivatives for which steel content is a large portion of the full value of the product, with the product categories shown below.

Expire the temporary horizontal remission of counter-tariffs on U.S. goods

Temporary remission of counter-tariffs for goods used in Canada will be expiring in the coming months.

• remission for manufacturing, processing, food and beverage packaging, or agricultural production is currently set to expire on December 15, 2025.
• remission on U.S. steel used for manufacturing, processing, food and beverage packaging, or agricultural production will expire effective January 31, 2026, with the continued exception of goods used for the manufacturing of automobiles, auto parts, and aerospace products.
• remission on aluminum products will also continue beyond January 31, 2026.

Importers will still be eligible to apply for remission under the remission framework published by the government on March 4, 2025, which provides for ongoing tariff relief in a narrow set of circumstances, for example where inputs cannot be sourced domestically.

Please visit this link for additional details: https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/backgrounders/2025/11/26/prime-minister-announces-new-measures-protect-and-transform-canadas

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