U.S. President Donald Trump’s sharp increase in American tariffs on steel and aluminum is pressuring Quebec manufacturers, prompting some to relocate factories south of the border, according to the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ).

Trump has doubled the tariff on steel and aluminum imports from many countries, including Canada, to 50% from 25%. The U.S. has kept tariffs on the imports from the U.K. at 25% as the two countries expand and finalize the trade deal that they signed Thursday.

That process is expected to last several months.

“We can’t pass that 50% on to our American customers,” said Véronique Proulx, president and CEO of the FCCQ, in an interview with Le Devoir. “If we have American competitors, they’ll be able to offer their products at a lower cost.”

The escalating tariffs are destabilizing Quebec businesses to the point that “several manufacturers have decided to accelerate their relocation to the United States, as President Trump wishes” she told her interviewer.

“From the very beginning [of the tariffs], companies that had investment plans on the American side accelerated their projects,” she added. “What hurts most is not the tariffs; it’s the uncertainty. Our economy is on hold.”

According to Proulx, a sense of urgency is sweeping across the steelmaking sector. As a result, several companies decided that they could no longer wait to see how Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs would play out.

“Many no longer had the will to live with this uncertainty and made the heartbreaking decision to move their operations to the United States,” Proulx told Le Devoir.

To counteract American unpredictability, Proulx urged governments to prioritize local steel and aluminum producers in public contracts.

The FCCQ strongly opposes retaliatory tariffs, but some steel and aluminum producers, labour groups and industry advocates, including the Canadian Steel Producers Association, want to see them implemented as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated that Canada will wait a while, but not too long, before responding to the added levies.

Steel and aluminum producers also want Carney to end steel dumping by international companies in Canada. Dumping refers to installing a surplus of steel and aluminum in Canada and undercutting Canadian prices.

The U.S. has granted only one exemption to the global tariff hike: the United Kingdom, which will face a 25% tariff—though that rate could rise to 50% if the bilateral agreement signed on May 8 is not upheld.

Proulx also criticized Quebec’s rising industrial energy rates which, she contended, erode competitiveness.

“We’re going to pay more for our electricity,” Proulx told Le Devoir. “That sends a strange message to our businesses, which already have a lot on their shoulders.”

Photo: Canada Action