Why Hamilton’s and Canada’s steel industry has a lot to lose if U.S. tariffs take effect in March [Video]

A 30-day pause on U.S. tariffs, and a potential trade war, is a welcome reprieve for the Canadian steel industry, including major producers in Hamilton, which would otherwise be like “a punch in the face,” says one expert. 

With materials crossing the U.S.-Canada border multiple times during steel production — plus Canada’s reliance on the U.S. companies buying its steel — the local industry has a lot to lose if 25 per cent blanket tariffs are imposed by President Donald Trump, said Goran Calic, an associate professor at McMaster University. 

“We will see the very high price of this very, very quickly,”  said Calic, who specializes in strategic management and is a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School.

“Americans might not even notice, and if they do, it’ll be fractional.” 

About half of Canadian steel is exported and 90 per cent of it goes to the U.S., while steel from …