Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak today.
In Canada, United Steelworkers represents 225,000 active members. We are the primary union of the steel and aluminum sectors, representing tens of thousands of members in those sectors across the country.
As an international union representing workers in both Canada and the United States for the past 76 years, the Steelworkers strongly oppose the May 31 presidential proclamation on the extended section 232 tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. Our international executive board condemns this decision, noting the absurdity of labelling Canada as a security threat.
Canada and the U.S. must work jointly to remedy the real problem of steel and aluminum dumping, for which Canada is not to blame. Canada must provide immediate worker and industry support for those who are going to be affected. This government must also strengthen Canada's ability to remedy predatory and unfair trade practices, as well as use domestic policy measures to ensure the long-term health of the Canadian steel and aluminum industries.
The Canadian steel and aluminum industries ship about $16 billion in products to the United States every year. That represents 90% of all steel exports. Our exports to the U.S. account for over two-thirds of the aluminum industry's total revenue. At least 22,000 people in Canada are directly employed in the steel industry, with another 100,000 indirectly employed. The aluminum industry employs 15,300 workers directly, and a further 41,000 indirectly.
It has been estimated that 45% of the steel industry will face immediate and direct impact. Steel is typically ordered on a six-week cycle, so we will likely see the impact of the tariffs very soon. We are very concerned that the Canadian industry has already been harmed by the one-month delay in the imposition of the tariffs by the Canadian government. We also note that the tariffs will deeply impact certain communities that are particularly dependent on steel and aluminum, such as Hamilton, Ontario, or Alma, Quebec. The United Steelworkers believe that these tariffs will hurt not only Canadian workers but also American workers.
Our union demands swift and thorough response to mitigate the impact on these sectors.
First, we support the countermeasures announced by the federal government and believe that they must be comprehensive and immediate. Exemptions should not be granted. This is particularly important to protect products that are made in Canada and to bolster the domestic market. Any revenue emanating from the counter-tariffs must go to the industry most affected by the section 232 tariffs.
Beyond the initial countermeasures, the government must introduce comprehensive supports for the steel and aluminum industries similar to the worker supports for the softwood lumber industry, as well as those recently introduced by the Quebec government in support of its aluminum industries. Measures must mitigate job losses as much as possible, including immediate support to industries in the form of loans, loan guarantees, or expanded domestic market opportunities. We also advocate for worker supports through EI and ESDC.
Canada must address the crux of the problem affecting North American steel and aluminum workers—cheap imports of products with distorted prices from countries that are engaging in illegal and predatory trade practices. For example, bad international actors, such as China, prop up their steel industry, overproducing products that glut the international market. This is compounded by the cheap labour and poor environmental regulations that, along with currency manipulation, artificially lower the price of steel.
We support recent measures to prevent offshore diversion from tariffs previously imposed on other countries, along with measures aimed at transshipment and trade circumvention. The trade union movement should be given the right to initiate trade complaints. We also appreciate that the government has increased the budget of the Canada Border Services Agency to identify and stop steel from glutting the Canadian market, but more must be done.
The imposition of these tariffs will lead to a surge in diverted products to our shores. In order to protect our domestic market, the government must launch WTO-compliant safeguard actions to protect especially vulnerable domestic products.
Finally, Canada must use domestic policy measures to react to price distortions that will result from poor labour, human rights, and environmental practices, including but not limited to countervailing duties.
Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to any questions you may have.