Accepting 25% tariff rate for steel a win for Trump, Manitoba businesses say

Supports for workers needed if looming deal includes concessions on levies: premier

A Manitoba steel distributor says he's shrugging his shoulders amid reports lower tariffs for the industry will be part of a looming U.S.-Canada trade deal.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday the countries are "very close" to a deal that would deliver tariff relief for hard-hit Canadian industries.

The details of that deal have not been made public. But a source with knowledge of the agreement told CBC News tariffs on steel and aluminum are being lowered from 50 per cent to 25 per cent, with discussions on derivatives and exemptions ongoing.

Justin Copp, owner of Brunswick Steel in the rural municipality of Springfield, says that's not enough.

That's "still extremely disruptive," he said Thursday.

"Maybe good news on the political front and shows a win. But boots on the ground, … we don't live within a 25 per cent cushion in our business. So realistically, that's probably not going to move the needle."

The second administration of U.S. President Donald Trump first imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum in March 2025.

The rate had stood at 50 per cent since June 2025, when Trump doubled it, saying the levies had not been steep enough to support U.S. industry.

Copp said the 25 per cent levy had already "fundamentally changed" the way the company does business, causing disruptions to its supply chain by increasing the value of U.S. steel and lowering that of Canadian steel.

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Volumes at the distributor have dropped by 30 per cent and a lot of employees had to be put under work-share agreements, he said.

"When those changes happen immediately, it just … forces a lot of resources being spent in different directions, and maybe you're not buying highest quality or preferred vendor," Copp said.

"We're just returning to that situation."

David Koss, president of Hunter Wire Ltd., a Winnipeg-based manufacturer of steel products, said the tariffs have put a stress on U.S. customers who've seen prices rise and are unable to plan ahead because of the trade uncertainty. Koss said he feels Canada "started giving up" a lot of bargaining power in June 2025, which is when Prime Minister Mark Carney scrapped the digital services tax targeting large tech firms to advance trade talks after the U.S. walked away.

"The one thing that [signals is] we are accepting 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, and that's something that the Trump administration can chalk up as a win," Koss said.

"They're facing a lot of headwinds in the midterms coming up. If that gives Trump the ability to say, 'Look, we got this concession,' … that takes away a lot of our bargaining power."

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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he was skeptical about a deal, saying he still had questions about what the tariff rate of steel and aluminum would look like.

He told reporters Thursday he would like to see those rates set at zero, saying support for steel workers would be necessary if the federal minister goes ahead with the concessions.

"Nobody should be losing jobs right now just because you got [an] egomaniac in the White House — and I say that on either side of the border," Kinew said. "Anyone in the steel industry, if they're going to be retooling, there should be some supports for that as well."

Kinew said he would still be open to putting U.S. alcohol back on liquor store shelves to secure a potential deal, even if he asked Manitobans not to buy it.

Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson, whose city is home to the Gerdau Ameristeel Manitoba steel mill, said he must have faith in Canada's negotiators and "hope for the very best."

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"I really don't think [a] 25 per cent tariff is a good deal," he told the CBC's Up to Speed, adding tariffs of around 12.5 per cent would be more acceptable.

"But if we could get a good deal, and if we can get things back to normal, … it wouldn't bother me if we've got to put some Kentucky bourbon on some of the shelves."

Trump imposed similar tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent for aluminum in his first term, citing national security. Those tariffs were in effect for about a year before being lifted in 2019.

Matthew Shoemaker, mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., another steel town, told CBC News accepting a deal that sees tariffs go back to that level as a "win" is not sustainable for Canada's steel industry.

The city's largest employer, Algoma Steel, announced 1,000 layoffs in December, citing Trump's tariffs as a factor.

With files from Santiago Arias Orozco and Up to Speed