Labrador stuck in 'wait-and-see' approach over looming impact of U.S. steel tariffs

In the wake of newly announced U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, one Labrador mayor says businesses in the mine-heavy region will have to wait and see how their bottom lines are impacted.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 30-day reprieve for tariffs on Canadian goods, only to announce he was slapping a 25 per cent tariff on all of the country's steel and aluminum imports, scheduled to come into effect on March 12.

Canada is the United States's biggest supplier of steel and aluminum, providing close to one-quarter of its steel imports — valued at $15.9 billion in 2024 — and almost 60 per cent of its aluminum.

Wabush Mayor Ron Barron said the town is taking a wait-and-see approach to how tariffs could affect industries in his region, as much of what comes out of the ground in western Labrador is bound for markets in Asia and Europe.

Business "could be affected by the steelmakers in those countries," Barron said. "If they're shipping to the States, it could affect us then, but that's going to be a while before that plays out."

While he can't foresee the future for Labrador mines, the mayor says townspeople are in a "tizzy" and that the levels of government are working on ways to counter what the U.S. does.

At least 3,000 people in the area, Barron says, are employed by a mining company.

"We sell iron ore, we don't sell steel. So ultimately what's going to happen will play out with the steel ... and aluminum markets, and how they will come back and trickle back to our industry here, well, that remains to be seen," said Barron.

Labrador West iron ore used to go to U.S. steel mills, but that changed in the last few decades, said Barron.

Tariffs not a surprise

Tamer Elbokl, editor in chief of Canadian Mining Journal, said he wasn't surprised to see Trump slap on tariffs, as tariffs have been a talking point for months.

"It's all like déjà vu from what happened in 2018. Also since its election in November, this administration has been threatening tariffs on Canada and on so many other countries," he said.

"It's their strategy."

LISTEN | CBC's Rhivu Rashid chats with Tamer Elbokl on the impact U.S. tariffs could have in Labrador: 

Labrador Morning9:43How Trump’s 25% tariff threat could influence mining in Labrador

Trump's 25% tariff threat would have a "huge impact" on mining companies in Labrador—and could even lead to job losses. That's according to Tamer Elbokl, editor in chief of the Canadian Mining Journal. We’ll learn more.

Elbokl said Labrador is a major producer of iron ore and nickel, which are major components in steel manufacturing, so he said the region's mining sector will eventually see some upheaval.

The silver lining, he said, is their diverse buyers.

"The Labrador mining companies, they have so many countries that they export their products into," he said, pointing to Europe, Japan, South Korea and China.

However, some of the mined products shipped domestically for Canadian steel production are then exported to the U.S., which is the cause of some of the region's immediate uncertainty, he added.

The long-term outlook is more locked-in, Elbokl said: tariffs on steel imports to the U.S. will "trickle down" the supply chain, where higher costs will eventually impact Labrador.

"If it cannot be avoided, it will certainly have an adverse effect on the labour and the mining sector in Labrador," he said.

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