How Will the Tariffs Effect Our Industry

Many people might not realize that Canada is the leading importing steel importer to the US and nearly 3x China who is in the 5th position per the below chart. The fact is the construction industry is booming now and locally at market capacity, yet several economic and political factors could impact this condition. The fear of tariffs are real and we need to be warning our clients how these could affect our project pricing and guaranties. 

According to ref article below “Earlier this year, President Trump introduced 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum targeted on China. While tariffs for most countries took effect in March, some of the United States’ largest exporters of steel, Canada, Mexico and the European Union, were exempted until the end of May.”

The impacts are not just about steel buildings either, the use of other steel products impact mechanical, concrete, glazing and many other systems across the industry will be effected.  We need our supply chain to keep us informed of what their suppliers local and abroad are telling them and keep the market informed. We must be good stewards of our industry to our customers.