House and Senate Vote to End Canadian Tariffs; Sheet Metal Industry Responds
Attention in Congress is already pivoting to Brazil, where tariffs are affecting coffee, metals, and other imports
SURGE: American Metals Supply works with sheet metal shops, supplying sheets of galvanized steel for ductwork fabrication.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday to terminate the national emergency declaration that enabled steep tariffs on Canadian imports, following similar Senate action earlier this year. For the nation’s sheet metal and HVAC contractors, relief may finally be on the way after a year of rising costs, material shortages, and mounting uncertainty in project planning.
The tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, placed a 35% duty on most Canadian imports and 10% on energy products. While intended as a show of economic strength, many in the construction and manufacturing sectors have argued the policy backfired – hurting American companies more than their northern competitors.
Stanley E. Kolbe Jr., executive director of government and political affairs at the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), sent a letter to Congress voicing strong support for H.J. Res. 72, the resolution introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., to end tariffs on Canadian goods.
“While imposing large, across-the-board tariffs on a number of other nations may be justified, Canada is our closest and most important trading partner. Tariff penalties aimed at Canada, for non-trade objectives, have already caused harsh and unnecessary economic pain for U.S. workers and harm to our nation’s construction and related metal fabricating, as well as HVAC equipment manufacturing businesses,” Kolbe said. “In fact, it will punish businesses, labor and economies on both sides of the border, and in direct contravention of the provisions featured in the existing USMCA.
“At a time when the demand for electrical, mechanical and sheet metal supplies and building materials, such as steel, copper and aluminum, far exceeds readily available domestic supply chain inventory, establishing record-level tariffs on U.S. purchases from Canada is counterproductive at best,” he added. “Tariffs restricting our access to vitally necessary supplies, or tariff-driven mandates increasing their cost, have placed countless construction firms into tenuous and unprofitable economic positions.”
SNIPS News and ACHR News have documented how tariffs have driven up the prices of metals and diesel, forcing contractors to absorb losses, delay projects, or pass costs to customers. Despite hopes that the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would stabilize North American trade, volatility and supply chain headaches have persisted across the sector, particularly for firms working on large-scale projects that rely on Canadian metals and components.
The political backdrop is also shifting. Rural lawmakers, especially in the Midwest, have reported backlash from farmers and manufacturers hit by retaliatory Canadian tariffs and supply bottlenecks. With polling ahead of the November elections showing pressure on Republican incumbents in key agricultural states, the push to remove the tariffs gained bipartisan momentum.
With the resolution now heading to the White House, its fate is uncertain – President Trump could still issue a veto, which would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override. Meanwhile, attention in Congress is already pivoting to Brazil, where lawmakers are considering similar action on tariffs affecting coffee, metals, and other imports from one of America’s other major trading partners.
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