Ottawa blinked first in its trade fight with Washington and Beijing, quietly rolling back duties on selected steel and aluminium imports from both countries to ease pressure on domestic industry.

       A government document tabled on 21 October shows that an amended 2024 surtax-remission order, signed 15 October and detailed on 5 November, grants tariff relief to certain Chinese and U.S. steel and aluminium products that are not produced in Canada. U.S. items covered range from public-health and national-security goods to inputs used in manufacturing, agriculture and food processing. Ottawa has already issued Privy-Council waivers to dozens of firms so they can import specified short-supply or contract-bound material without paying “retaliatory” rates.

       Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the exemptions “protect Canadian workers and families from the consequences of counter-measures” and “safeguard employees in downstream sectors under exceptional circumstances.”

       Canada first imposed the surtaxes last year—on U.S. products in retaliation for Washington’s metals duties, and on Chinese goods largely to align with U.S. trade moves. The Trudeau government also slapped a 100 % tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

       Beijing struck back quickly, launching an anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola and, in August, imposing provisional deposits of 75.8 % on Canadian exporters, while also raising duties on canola oil, seafood and pork. The measures have piled pressure on Prairie farmers, prompting Prime Minister Mark Carney to dispatch officials for exploratory talks. Foreign Minister Anita Anand visited Beijing last week in what local media call a fence-mending mission. “Re-shaping relations will be difficult,” the Globe and Mail wrote; success would require Ottawa to persuade China to lift the canola levies while showing no willingness to relax EV restrictions.

       Facing Washington, Ottawa has signalled it will not escalate further. Carney said last week Canada is “working to reach a deal that secures relief for aluminum, steel and energy” and added, “It’s time to negotiate.” Domestic steelmakers are unhappy: the Canadian Steel Producers Association called it “disappointing” that U.S. mills received broad two-month exemptions while Canadian firms “still can’t enter their market.”

       With the trade conflict dragging on, pessimism about growth is rising. A Bloomberg survey released 20 October found more than half of Canadians expect the economy to weaken over the next six months. Policy-makers say exporters report “particularly weak” prospects and blame tariffs for “significant lay-offs.” One online comment summed up the mood: “Compared with the U.S. and China, Canada’s consumer base is small—we simply don’t have many cards to play in this tariff war.”