The federal government is rolling out a series of fresh relief measures worth $1.5 billion for Canada’s tariff-hit steel, aluminum and copper tariffs, ministers Melanie Joly and Evan Solomon said on Monday.
The U.S. currently imposes a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, along with a 50 per cent tariff on certain copper products from Canada.
“We’re in a trade war, we’re on the front lines and the goal is to protect workers and actually keep companies,” Industry Minister Joly said.
Monday’s relief package will be broken up into two parts, the first one being $1 billion in loans by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
The loans will range anywhere between $2 million and $50 million, Joly said.
The first year of the loan has an interest rate of zero, followed by “very low” interest rates for the second and third years, she added.
“There will be no repayment for the entire three years, only actually interest to be paid on these loans. And at the end of the three years, repayment will be asked,” Joly said.
The second part of Monday’s package will be an additional $500 million in funding through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, AI and Digital Innovation Minister Solomon said.
The funding is intended to encourage small and medium enterprises “to make strategic pivots, improve productivity, diversify markets and stay competitive,” Solomon said.
The Regional Tariff Response Initiative is a Canadian government fund launched to shelter Canadian businesses from the worst impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
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