No defence industry without steel: Canada
Milwaukee: Canada has warned that global steel overcapacity is putting domestic producers under severe pressure, with International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu arguing that maintaining a strong steel industry has become essential to national sovereignty and defence.
Sidhu said the issue was being discussed at the G20 trade ministers’ meeting in Milwaukee as governments grapple with excess capacity, distorted supply chains and pressure on domestic manufacturing.
“Of course, you know, our steel industry is under tremendous stress,” Sidhu told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting.
“And as you all understand, without a steel industry, you won’t have a defence industry.”
Canada, he said, has taken measures to protect its domestic producers because of overcapacity elsewhere in the world.
“We’ve taken actions to protect our industry, because of some of the overcapacity around the world,” Sidhu said.
He said Canada was not alone in confronting the problem and pointed to measures taken by the United Kingdom and European Union.
“I think we need to find a solution,” he said.
Sidhu also raised concerns about steel products being dumped into markets, saying such practices were putting additional pressure on industries already dealing with disrupted supply chains.
“There are some countries out there that, you know, with supply chains the way they are, the dumping of certain steel products is not helpful,” he said.
The minister did not identify the countries he was referring to.
Sidhu said discussions among trade partners were focused on protecting workers and maintaining industrial capacity.
“Part of that is the conversation with closed doors, of how we can support each other, how we can support our workers, and how we can support the steel industry, frankly,” he said.
The Canadian minister linked the debate directly to national sovereignty.
“I think for sovereignty, you need a steel industry,” Sidhu said.
“You need a steel industry in your country to, to push up and, and ramp up your defence industry, and that’s what we’re focused on in Canada.”
The comments underscored the growing overlap between trade policy, industrial policy and national security as governments seek to secure domestic capacity in strategic sectors.
Sidhu said steel was also needed for major Canadian projects outside the defence sector, including energy infrastructure and the electricity grid.
“The projects that we’re building in energy or vertical minerals or an electricity grid, we’re doing well with our steel industry so they can, you know, build more domestically,” he said.
He also linked the effort to Canada’s economic relationship with the United States.
Canada and the US have highly integrated manufacturing supply chains, including in steel and automobiles. Sidhu said separately during the press conference that workers on both sides of the border were experiencing some of the same pressures and argued that the two countries should work together.
“I strongly believe the auto sector is stronger when we’re able to work together,” he said.
Steel overcapacity has emerged as a recurring issue in international trade discussions, with major producing and consuming economies debating how to respond to excess production, subsidies and the movement of lower-priced steel across markets.