It is reported that leaders of Canada's steel industry have taken their pleas for tax breaks and import protection to Parliament Hill.

Executives of Hamilton's three main steel firms as well as the president of their national association staged a lobbying blitz on Parliament Hill, taking their message about the importance of the industry to anyone willing to listen.

Mr Ron Watkins president of Canadian Steel Producers Association said that the point of the effort is to remind decision makers Canada’s economy still relies on an industrial base.

He added that "Steel is the backbone of Canada’s manufacturing industry, supporting many of the country's most important sectors, including automotive, construction, energy, mining and transport. It's crucial that we work to keep it vibrant."

Mr Watkins, along with Mr Anton Jura president and general manager of US Steel Canada, Mr Dave Cameron CFO of Max Aicher North America and Mr Juergen Schachler CEO of ArcelorMittal Dofasco and chair of the CSPA board of directors, told parliamentarians and senior bureaucrats that keeping the industry vibrant would be rewarded with secure direct employment for 25,000 people, 100,000 spin off jobs and exports of USD 7 billion a year.

Mr Schachler said that "Public policy that supports the industry and its jobs is especially important given the difficult economic conditions Canadian manufacturers continue to face. Steel is the foundation of Canada's manufacturing sector and a key contributor to the country’s economy, both through well paying jobs for Canadians as well as through the industry's extensive and diverse supplier and customer base."

Mr Jura added that "As the economy continues to recover, it is important that government be focused on the development of policy that will strengthen industry and support manufacturing. Those economic benefits, however, are threatened on several fronts."

In a package of talking points for the meetings, industry leaders planned to stress the importance of making manufacturing a central piece of economic planning for the future. This includes enhancing the scientific research tax credit program, accelerating capital cost allowance tax policies to spur investment, sector specific support for training initiatives and ensuring the Canadian Border Services Agency can enforce unfair trade rulings against other countries, especially China, which the industry accusing of dumping cheap steel on the world market to keep its own industry producing.

The industry package said that "The government’s movement toward a more open relationship with China carries with it the need for continued enforcement of trade rules. China, unfortunately, has not played by the rules there have been 15 anti dumping and countervail cases filed against China in recent years and a number of findings against Chinese steel."

The Chinese steel industry, the CSPA notes, is massive, accounting for nearly half of all world steel production.

(Sourced from www.thespec.com)