Hamilton steelworkers brace for business slowdown with Trump's 25% tariffs

Hamilton steelworkers say they know business will be tough now that President Donald Trump has followed through on his weekend threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all aluminum and steel entering the U.S. 

Workers at Stelco and National Steel Car in the Ontario city said they're hopeful for measures that can protect workers from bearing the brunt of any economic slowdown, such as union protections.

"Absolutely yes, there will be some impact [in Hamilton]," said Tony McLaughlin, who worked at Stelco's plant in the city for 34 years before moving into a union position.

"It's going to hurt business. We're already on short orders."

McLaughlin and others spoke to Radio-Canada on Monday in Hamilton. 

That evening, Trump signed executive orders proceeding with the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, saying there were no exceptions.

McLaughlin said United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1005 recently negotiated a strong contract with Stelco's new owner, Cleveland Cliffs, an American company, that the union is optimistic will prevent layoffs. 

Our members are pretty solid; they aren't panicking.- Ron Wells, USW Local 1005 president

"Our members are pretty solid; they aren't panicking," said Local 1005 president Ron Wells. 

Wells and McLaughlin spoke to reporters at an NDP campaign stop in the east end of Hamilton.

Trump initially dropped word of his latest tariffs plan on Sunday, saying they would be imposed on "any steel coming into the United States" as well as aluminum.  

This marks the second time Canada's steel and aluminum industries have been on Trump's tariffs radar.

In March 2018, during his first term as president, he imposed steel and aluminum tariffs at 25 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, using national security as justification. Canada responded with a series of counter-tariffs on American products like Florida orange juice.

In May 2019, the White House announced a deal to prevent "surges" in the steel and aluminum supplies from Canada and Mexico, ending the trade dispute.

The broader impact of steel-aluminum tariffs

Canadian experts warn these latest tariffs would impact manufacturing industries, including shipbuilding and automaking, and workers on both sides of the border. 

Canada's largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, is also located in Hamilton, along with industry giant Stelco, meaning the city will be hard hit. Hamilton has one of the highest concentrations of steel manufacturing activity in Canada, according to the Canadian government. 

Dofasco declined to comment Monday.

Cleveland Cliffs said in its fourth-quarter financial last week that tariffs on all goods from Canada, Mexico and China would be welcomed. A week ago, Trump paused sweeping tariffs for 30 days for Canada and Mexico as the U.S. continued to work with those respective countries. Cleveland Cliffs did not comment on Trump's latest tariffs announced Monday. 

McMaster University's Marvin Ryder, an associate business professor, said he doesn't know where Trump will get aluminum and steel in quick order if it's not from Canada. 

"Why are you doing this to your best and closest ally?" Ryder told CBC News. "None of this makes any sense." 

On Sunday, he advised Canadians to not overreact and wait for more details. Exemptions could be applied to companies like Cleveland Cliffs operating on both sides of the border and Dofasco that could argue they produce "specialized" steel that can't be bought anywhere else, Ryder said. 

"Everyone is going to work their connections to try to make it go away," he said. 

1 lost steel job means 6 elsewhere also go: expert

Goran Calic, an associate professor at McMaster University who specializes in strategic management, told CBC Hamilton last week that the government will likely subsidize the steel industry in the short term, until a deal is reached. 

Otherwise, he said, the impacts would be painful and far reaching.

Generally speaking, for every worker laid off in the steel industry, six other jobs are lost elsewhere in the economy, said Calic, a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School. Those jobs could be the truck driver who transports the steel, to the engineer who designs the car it's used in. 

"It will be devastating for the industry, but I suspect it will be subsidized," he said. 

Jose Quesada was finishing his shift at National Steel Car on Monday when he said there also were layoffs there in 2018 in the wake of Trump's first tariffs on steel and aluminum.

"We slowed down for a month or two then and picked right back up," he said. 

National Steel Car manufactures railcars and exports them to the U.S. It's unclear how it will be impacted by the new tariffs and did not respond to a request for comment. 

Derek Rice, who also works at National Steel Car, said "100 per cent" workers will lose their jobs, although he hadn't received an update from management.

"We're hearing a lot of rumours, so you have to take it as it comes." 

National Steel Car doesn't share business plans with the union, said USW Local 7135 president Frank Crowder. 

The company recently laid off workers after an order was cancelled, but Crowder said he doesn't know if it's related to the tariff threat. He isn't sure how tariffs will impact National Steel Car but said any layoffs will be felt deeply. 

"When layoffs occur, they don't just affect that individual worker," Crowder said. "They affect their family and the community."