Canada’s steel producers have a message for B.C.’s construction sector that has found it difficult to buy domestically produced steel for the major projects they have built in the past.

Tariffs in the U.S. trade war that have escalated from 25 per cent to 50 per cent over the last 10 months have caused cross-border exports to collapse, according to Catherine Cobden, president of the Canadian Steel Producers Association.

That changes domestic market dynamics in terms of the industry’s ability to supply steel to B.C.

“Old assumptions don’t apply,” Cobden said in an interview. “In other words, we have a lot of steel (and) we are very competitive on fairly traded prices.”

Canada produces about 12 million tonnes of steel per year, Cobden said, and previously exported half of it to the U.S.

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