US and Canada negotiate trade deal to lower steel and aluminum tariffs to 25%

The United States and Canada are in active talks over a trade arrangement that would bring tariffs on some Canadian steel and aluminum exports down to 25%. That sounds like a lot until you consider where they are now: 50%, after doubling from the original 25% rate set back in March 2025. The negotiations center on reviving tariff-rate quotas, or TRQs. Think of them as a volume cap with a discount: Canada could export a certain amount of steel and aluminum at a reduced tariff rate, but anything beyond that threshold would still face the steeper duties. How tariffs got this high The path to 50% tariffs on Canadian metals has been a slow-motion escalation rooted in Section 232, the national security provision the US has used to justify trade barriers on steel and aluminum imports. The initial 25% tariff went into effect in March 2025, covering Canadian steel and aluminum broadly. By June 4, 2025, those tariffs had doubled to 50%. Canada didn’t exactly take it quietly. Ottawa responded with 25% retaliatory tariffs on specific US steel and aluminum imports, measures that remain in force and are projected to extend into 2026 and 2027. What’s on the table The TRQ framework under discussio...