August 25, 2025
In a recent CBC News segment, Supreme Steel President and COO, David Fritz, shared his perspective on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement to roll back tariffs on steel and aluminum—part of a broader push to secure a new trade agreement with the United States.
Fritz welcomed the shift in approach but emphasized that counter-tariffs on U.S. steel have already harmed Canadian fabricators. He explained that many key steel products, such as raw steel shapes, cannot be sourced domestically and must be imported from the U.S. Limiting those imports has disrupted operations and forced companies to consider more expensive overseas options, which Canada is now also seeking to restrict.
“The issue for us as fabricators is that there are certain steel products we cannot source domestically. We’ve been buying raw shapes out of the U.S. market,” said Fritz.
He described the Prime Minister’s evolving stance as positive, though “too late” to undo the damage caused by earlier countermeasures, including the now-rescinded Digital Services Tax.
A key theme in Fritz’s comments was the harmful impact of prolonged uncertainty on business planning and investment.
“Uncertainty hurts our ability to plan,” he noted. “We are an agile company. We believe in ourselves and that we can make things happen here in Canada.”
Looking forward, Fritz called for increased domestic demand and better alignment of trade policy to support Canadian steel fabricators and restore market stability.
Watch the full interview on CBC News here.