Canada Bans Steel, Aluminum Imports From Russia

As S&P Global reported, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced last week that the country will ban imports of steel and aluminum from Russia. “We continue to do everything we can to cut off or limit the revenue used to fund Putin’s illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine,” Freeland said in a statement. “Canada, and our partners, have already sanctioned the Russian Central Bank and capped the price of Russian oil and gas. And now, we are ensuring Putin cannot pay for his war by selling aluminum and steel in Canada.”

For aluminum, the ban will include unwrought, sheet, and finished products such as containers and household items, S&P Global said. For steel, the ban will impact iron and non-alloy steel, semi-finished products, and finished products such as tubes and pipes.

Canada imported C$45 million (about $32.5 million) of aluminum and C$213 million of steel products from Russia in 2021. Freeland did not specify when the bans would take effect.

The Canadian government’s announcement came after the U.S. government announced a 200 percent tariff on Russian aluminum. Read more about those penalties here and in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) guidance that can be found here concerning the new U.S. tariff rate. This guidance:

• Identifies the specific tariff codes that U.S. importers of covered products should use to enter covered merchandise into the United States;
• Makes clear covered products that enter the commerce of the U.S. after March 10 from a Foreign-Trade Zone are subject to the 200 percent tariff;
• Confirms that granted Section 232 exclusions (that remain in effect) shall be valid;
• Makes clear Russian aluminum products within the scope of the proclamation are not eligible for entry into the United States subject to any quota or tariff-rate quota; and
• Indicates that CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) should have functionality around the new tariffs.