Noront Resources

Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti urged the federal government Wednesday to adopt a new trade policy to ensure fair trade for Canadian steel workers.

He said the current federal trade remedy system is antiquated and must be changed.

“It’s more than 20 years old, it’s outdated. This system does not reflect the global realities of trade today,” Orazietti said.

He called on Ottawa to immediately embrace the Trade Remedy Modernization plan as outlined by the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) during a press conference Wednesday afternoon at his constituency office while flanked by local industry stakeholders, including union and company representatives from Essar Steel Algoma and Tenaris Algoma Tubes Algoma, as well as reps from retiree groups.

The modernization plan supported by steel producers seeks more transparency and accountability by companies that export steel to Canada.

“We also have other issues around the length of time it takes for these rulings to occur.”

Dumping continues while workers and businesses in Canada suffer, Orazietti said.

“So we need a more timely process.”

Although both the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) and the Canadian Border Services have determined steel dumping has taken place, the CITT found no harm had been done to the steel industry, and in particular to Essar Steel, Orazietti noted.

“We all know that there’s harm being done to Canadian steelworkers by the dumping of foreign steel.”

Two of three fully-integrated steel mills in Ontario are currently in CCAA protection.

Essar Steel was granted protection from its creditors in early November under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

U.S. Steel, formerly Stelco went into CCAA one year earlier.

Steel mill suppliers are also feeling the impact from dumping, said the local MPP. Some are laying off workers while others are closing down.

“It’s time for some immediate changes in the system.”

About 120 Sault and area businesses were owed money by Essar Steel Algoma, according to the List of Creditors report that was filed last November.

The filing was part of the requirements under CCAA.

The businesses are owed close to $40 million, according to preliminary figures listed in the court-filed documents.

Tenaris Algoma Tubes recently announced it will lay off an additional 230 workers beginning this week.

They will join approximately 270 other employees who were cut in separate layoffs in December 2014 and March 2015.

Current trade rules put the onus on businesses to prove they are being harmed by steel dumping, Orazietti said.

“It’s an unreasonable expectation to ask companies here to do that, they don’t necessarily have access to the pricing of all steel in other jurisdictions.”

Some companies in other countries are state owned and heavily subsidized, or operated by the state, which sets the price of the exported steel.

That leads to steel being dumped “well below what the actual cost of production is,” Orazietti said.

Although Canada is moving toward a cap-and-trade system that places a price on carbon, some foreign industries can pump out products without abiding by environmental regulations, sometimes producing six-times the amount of carbon per-ton-of-steel than producers in Canada.

It’s unfair to ask Canadian producers to compete with companies that have virtually no rules or regulations, said Orazietti.

“They can compete if there was fairer trade,” he said. “We want fair trade and that’s not what we have in Canada today.”

Orazietti also announced Wednesday the launch of a new website called fairtradeforsteel.ca

The site allows the public to lend its support to the steel industry by signing an online petition that calls for trade policy modernization to ensure fair trade for Canadian steel producers.

He encouraged local resident to add their names to the petition.

“This is something that we hope takes off. Obviously, not only in Sault Ste. Marie and Ontario, but right across the country.”

Orazietti said he raised the issues that are hurting the steel industry with colleagues at Queen’s Park, and most recently at a meeting 10 days ago in Toronto.

Representatives from Essar Steel and four government ministries, as well as the premier’s office, were also present at the meeting, he said.

“We certainly appreciate the information that’s being shared by the unions and the companies to raise awareness of the strategy that we need to put together to help strengthen Canadian steel produces and protect the jobs that are in this country and in this city.”

http://www.saultstar.com/2016/02/03/time-to-step-up-for-steel