The CSPA is, of course, the national voice of Canada's $15 billion primary steel production industry. As I mentioned previously, direct employment from steel is approximately 23,000 Canadians supporting another 100,000 indirect jobs.
On June 1, 2018, the United States imposed punitive tariffs on the imports of certain steel and aluminum products from Canada, at rates of 25% and 10% respectively. These are unilateral and illegal trade actions by the United States, which pose an unacceptable and immediate threat to investment and employment in Canadian steel manufacturing. Our member companies strongly support the Government of Canada's announced intention to impose tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, and other products from the United States, representing the total value of 2017 Canadian exports affected by the U.S. measures. We believe this to be an appropriate and proportional response to the U.S. administration's actions, and an essential step in supporting Canadian steel companies and their workers.
In that regard, it is the consensus position of the Canadian Steel Producers Association that items included in table 1, published in the notice of intent, should be subject to tariffs at the rate of 25% when those tariffs take effect. Only in verifiable instances, either where no Canadian production exists or where there is a narrow requirement for the cross-border transfer of a specialized product within the same steel-producing company to support Canadian operations, should initial omissions to that list be considered. Once it is implemented, if it is determined through a prescribed exclusion process that a given product cannot be reasonably sourced either domestically or from alternative international jurisdictions, only then should relief for exemptions from the applied tariffs be contemplated. Any such process should be conducted transparently and in full consultation with Canadian Steel Producers.
I would note that the U.S. process for gaining an exclusion from the section 232 tariffs is rigorously public by its nature and predicated on the provision of a full, factual description of the specified product, its properties, and the quantities in question, and also allows for any company or individual in the United States to file objections to the exclusionary request within 30 days of those being posted on the federal registrar's website. They are quite ambitiously public about the process.
Canada's steel producers have no interest in seeing valid exemption requests denied and do not want important economic activities disrupted, but where Canadian steel products are subject to tariffs entering the United States, equivalent tariffs should be imposed on U.S. steel products entering Canada. To take any lesser action would both undermine the notion of a truly reciprocal response and fail to meet the Government of Canada's commitment of full support for steel and aluminum workers.
We understand that the unfortunate reality of tariffs implies a potential cost escalation and/or the adjustment of established supply chains for steel consumers. We have worked and will continue to work tirelessly to demonstrate to the U.S. administration the need for a full exclusion for Canada from the section 232 tariffs in order to maintain mutually beneficial trade between our two countries and to preserve critical integrated supply chains. We would encourage implicated steel consumers with Canadian operations to undertake similar advocacy efforts in the United States, furthering the notion of our combined benefit from free and open trade in North America.
Through a true Team Canada approach, we should hope not only to convince the United States to exempt Canada from tariffs on steel and aluminum but also to discourage the U.S. from moving forward with section 232 tariffs on the imports of autos and automotive parts from Canada. The CSPA also believes that steel producers from the United States who have championed actions against Canada in the context of section 232 tariffs should not be allowed to gain any advantage associated with exemptions from Canada's responsive actions. Clearly, a group of foreign companies that have consistently chosen to work against Canada's interests should not be granted exemptions of any kind from responsive measures.
The Canadian steel industry finds itself today at a significant competitive disadvantage in the United States because of these tariffs. Being artificially excluded from by far our largest export market while at the same time working with the government on appropriate measures, like a safeguard action to contend with a potential flood of global steel displaced from the U.S., will necessitate an increased focus on the domestic market to ensure we can keep selling our products and employing Canadians. Exemptions or exclusions from table 1 imply not just continued access for American producers but unfair and damaging access for American producers sheltered from competition in their home market by the section 232 tariffs.