Ottawa gives Stelco's U.S. owner 15 days as trade data challenges import claim

Summary

Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Goncalves used the phrase "avalanche of imports" to explain idling Stelco's galvanizing lines in Hamilton, sending up to 500 Ontario steelworkers home. The video argues Statistics Canada data does not back that claim. Coated steel imports from outside the US are down over 30% year to date and about 60% over two years.

The video then weighs Cliffs' own results and the market. Its third-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $612M, beating a $575M forecast, and Goncalves pointed to Canada's tariff-rate quotas. Canadian hot-rolled steel prices rose roughly $400 a ton in four months. Yet Stelco shipped about 60,000 tons of slab a month across the border, which Cascadia Metals' Jim Richie says starved Hamilton's coating lines.

Ottawa has responded on two fronts. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford announced nearly $9 billion for Ontario's steel and auto sectors, including a $5 billion Joint Steel Action Fund. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly then gave Cleveland-Cliffs 15 days to reverse the layoffs and said forced divestiture is on the table. The video frames the test as whether a foreign owner keeps its commitments to Canadian workers under the Investment Canada Act.

Key points

• Cleveland-Cliffs blamed an "avalanche of imports" for idling Stelco lines in Hamilton, with up to 500 workers affected.
• Coated steel imports from outside the US are down 30%+ year to date and about 60% over two years.
• Imports from Turkey fell 84% and from the UAE fell 87% since 2024.
• Cliffs' Q3 adjusted EBITDA was $612M, beating its $575M forecast.
• Stelco shipped about 60,000 tons of slab a month across the border, Goncalves later confirmed.
• Joly gave Cleveland-Cliffs 15 days to reverse the layoffs or face court, and said forced divestiture is on the table.

Questions answered