General information on the administration of steel import controls

Steel import monitoring

Import monitoring of steel products began on September 1, 1986, when carbon steel products were added to the Import Control List (ICL) for the purpose of collecting information on such goods pursuant to subsection 5.1(1) of the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA). Specialty steel products were initially added to the ICL on June 1, 1987. Carbon and specialty steel products were added to the ICL under the authority of subsection 5.1(1) of the EIPA, following their deemed removal, in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017. On November 2, 2020, carbon and specialty steel products were re-added to the ICL pursuant to paragraph 5(1)(e) of the EIPA, in order to continue to implement the steel related commitments agreed to by Canada in the Joint Statement by Canada and the United States on Section 232 Duties on Steel and Aluminum, which enabled the indefinite continuation of the Program.

Enhanced reporting and recordkeeping requirements

The Government of Canada has established a strengthened steel import monitoring system following consultations with the steel industries, workers, and other stakeholders from various sectors on ways to improve Canada’s trade remedy and import monitoring regimes. Canada’s steel import monitoring capabilities have been enhanced by adding a reporting and record keeping requirement to the steel General Import Permits No. 80 and 81. Global Affairs Canada is able to ask importers to submit detailed documentation on their imports of steel at its discretion, to help identify any possible discrepancies in import data and determine the source of any inconsistencies in a targeted manner. This supports the accurate tracking of imports and import patterns, to better identify when the import situation may require trade remedy action and to track the pattern of imports once a trade remedy is in place.

Collection of country of melt and pour information

Steel importers will now have the option under Canada’s Steel Import Monitoring Program to provide country of melt and pour (COM) information to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) when completing their customs declarations using the Single Window Integrated Import Declaration. This is part of a phased approach to collecting import data regarding the country where raw steel was first produced in a liquid state and then poured into its first solid shape. Following forthcoming regulatory changes, the second phase will require steel importers to report this data to the CBSA for all steel imports as a condition of using the General Import Permits No. 80 and 81. Public reports containing aggregate data on COM will be published on the steel import monitoring reports webpage after the full implementation of COM collection. Further details are forthcoming.

Related links

• News Release - Canada to make steel supply chain more transparent
• Handbook of Export and Import Commodity Codes
• Archived: Frequently Asked Questions – Steel Safeguard Tariff Rate Quotas