Safeguards on certain steel imports
In October 2018, the Government imposed provisional safeguards for 200 days on imports of heavy plate, concrete reinforcing bar (rebar), energy tubular products, hot-rolled sheet, pre-painted steel, stainless steel wire and wire rod. Concurrently, the Government asked the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) to conduct an inquiry to determine if longer-term final safeguards are warranted and, if so, to recommend appropriate remedies to the Government.
The CITT issued its report on April 3, 2019, finding that final safeguards are warranted for imports of heavy plate and stainless steel wire.
End of Provisional Safeguards on Certain Steel Goods
In accordance with Canadian law, provisional safeguards on imports of rebar, energy tubular products, hot-rolled sheet, pre-painted steel and wire rod ceased to have effect 200 days after the Order in Council imposing the measure was made. Accordingly, provisional safeguard surtax will not be assessed on imports made on or after April 29, 2019 and importers are no longer required to obtain shipment-specific import permits from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
The Government is refunding the provisional safeguard surtaxes paid on imports of rebar, energy tubular products, hot-rolled sheet, pre-painted steel and wire rod. As well, refunds will be provided of provisional safeguard surtaxes paid on imports of heavy plate and stainless steel wire originating in Colombia, Korea, Panama and Peru. Refunds of provisional safeguard surtaxes will be processed automatically by the CBSA.
Contact information:
- 1-800-461-9999 (CBSA Border Information Service)
Additional resources:
Final Safeguards on Heavy Plate and Stainless Steel Wire
On April 26, 2019, the Government of Canada announced its intention to impose final safeguards on imports of heavy plate and stainless steel wire. These final safeguards came into force on May 13, 2019 and will remain in place until October 2021. The final safeguards are applied in the form of tariff-rate quotas (TRQ), whereby a surtax only applies to imports without a shipment-specific import permit or that exceed the TRQ. The applicable TRQ volumes and surtax rates in a given period of the final safeguards are set out in CBSA Customs Notice 19-08.
The surtax-free quota is administered by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) through shipment-specific import permits. For a shipment to be imported free of the safeguard surtax, importers must present a valid shipment-specific import permit to the CBSA at the time of final accounting. Information regarding GAC's administration of the final safeguards TRQ, including allocation and the procedures for obtaining shipment-specific import permits, can be found in Notice to Importers No. 945.
Contact information:
- 343-203-6820 or steel-acier@international.gc.ca (GAC Steel Controls Unit)
Additional resources
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is responsible for enforcing the final safeguards in accordance with Customs Notice 19-08.
Contact information:
- 1-800-461-9999 (CBSA Border Information Service)
Additional resources
Department of Finance Canada Information
All information on federal steel and aluminum measures, as well as on support programs for businesses in the sector, are available on the Department of Finance’s steel and aluminum portal.
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