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U.S. steel tariffs result in lay offs in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

SAULT STE MARIE, Ont. — A manufacturing company says it’s laying off workers in Ontario in response to American tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.
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SAULT STE MARIE, Ont. — A manufacturing company says it’s laying off workers in Ontario in response to American tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

A spokesman for Tenaris, which manufactures seamless steel pipes, says 40 workers at the company’s mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., will be laid off on Sunday due to changes in the export market.

David McHattie says the employees were hired at the northern Ontario mill to help with increased demand for the company’s products, including steel pipes.

But months later, the Trump administration imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum, which Tenaris says has created an “unsustainable” market.

The company has operations around the world and says the market remains uncertain as the trade dispute between the United States and Canada continues.

The layoffs come the same day Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods come into effect.