The Canadian Steel Producers
Association welcomes the announcement that Canada will require all steel
imports into the country to report where the raw steel was first produced,
known as country of melt and pour.
Beginning November 5th, 2024, steel importers will be required
to report this information to the Canada Border Services Agency when completing
their customs declarations under Canada’s Steel Import Monitoring Program.
As Canada’s steel industry faces significant exposure to global
steel excess capacity and unfair trade practices, it is a crucial development
that Canada is now requiring this disclosure as a new condition on all steel
imports into the country.
This requirement will increase transparency and accountability
in steel trade and support the domestic industry’s quest for fairer trade in
Canada. It will also better align the trade monitoring system with the
country’s major trading partner, the United States and support efforts to
prioritize the use of cleaner steels throughout North American supply chains.
The trade remedies system will benefit from this enhancement of data
collection.
Moving forward, it will be critical to Canada, and major
partners, that the information collected via this new tool is regularly and
consistently reported on publicly, according to the association.
As part of a phased-in approach, steel importers now have the
option to begin reporting data regarding the country where raw steel was first
produced. This process will ensure Canada is working with the steel industry to
support an effective and smooth transition to mandatory reporting in fall 2024.
Currently, the United States is the only other country in the
world that collects country of melt and pour information for steel imports.