Steel pipes and tubes used in drilling and transporting crude oil flooded into Canada this spring, a Reuters analysis shows, as U.S. President Donald Trump`s steel tariffs forced producers from Asia to Europe to seek new markets.
Canada is a major steel producer in its own right and the biggest supplier to the United States, but the country is swamped by supply from India and South Korea which underscores the global shift in trading patterns following the Trump administration`s decision to place tariffs on steel and aluminum imported to the United States.
The spike in imports threatens jobs in the Canadian energy steel-making sector, one of the biggest consumers of the commodity, prompting concerns about plants owned by Tenaris SA, EVRAZ and others, and calls for Ottawa to take action.
"There is a clear and present threat looming over us right now," said Neil Rasmussen, president of Alberta-based Bri-Steel Manufacturing. Sales of "oil country tubular goods" in Canada are already slow and increased import competition worsens the situation, Rasmussen said.
While steel imports have expanded into Canada for years due to high domestic production costs and global overcapacity, they accelerated after Trump`s threats, leading up to the president announcing them on March 1.
The latest surge was driven by an import spike from India and South Korea, the data showed. Tonnage rose more than value, indicating that average prices fell.
Asked about higher shipments to Canada, India`s Steel Secretary, Aruna Sharma, said India does not export large quantities of steel overseas.
A flood of cheap imports forced the European Union to launch a safeguard investigation, resulting in a sharp drop in imports through the port of Antwerp, the union`s biggest steel-handling port, a spokesperson at the port said.
Selling pipe into the United States has also become harder for Canada with some U.S. customers asking Bri-Steel to delay orders, leaving it to consider layoffs if the situation worsens, Rasmussen said.
The import surge has the potential to close steel plants, said Mark Rowlinson, assistant to the United Steelworkers Canada national director. He referred to a 2015 shutdown at the Tenaris Prudential plant in Calgary, which the company blamed on a spike in pipe imports. GETTING WORSE
A steel industry source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Canadian producers are losing bids to South Korea, Mexico, Romania and China.
Tariffs took effect on March 23, though some U.S. allies including Canada were exempted until May 31. Canadian retaliatory tariffs take effect on July 1.
Canadian authorities can levy special duties on unfairly subsidized steel, or temporarily restrict imports during a sudden surge with a "safeguard action". Asked about the potential for safeguards, Canada`s Finance Ministry said it is monitoring the situation.
Canada should take action as pipe priced more than 10 percent cheaper floods the market, said Butch Mandel, president of Welded Tube of Canada. The company is realigning its supply chain to sell only Canadian-made products to Canadian customers, Mandel said.
Luxembourg-based Tenaris supports Canada`s retaliatory tariffs and could boost production if tariffs against U.S. steel cause supply shortages, according to a confidential letter sent last week to Canada`s finance department.
"Canadian manufacturers have ample capacity to assure any security of supply concerns," said Tenaris Canada vice-president David McHattie, in a letter seen by Reuters.
One executive at a Canadian pipeline company, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it is accepting supply quotes from more countries than ever before, allowing it greater flexibility.
But overall, the cost-inflating effect of the trade war is another pressure on Canada`s high-cost oil sector, industry officials said.
Steel tariffs are a "troubling development," since steel is used in every part of the (energy) industry, said Nick Schultz, vice-president of pipeline regulation at Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).
Many U.S. manufacturers import Canadian steel to make specialized equipment for Canada`s oil industry and are passing along the anticipated Canadian tariff, said Tom Whalen, chief executive of Petroleum Services Association of Canada.
The apex court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to present a vision document on the TTZ. Delhi`s School of Planning and Architecture was asked to -- and drew up -- a draft vision document to restore and conserve Agra`s heritage. The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department and the Agra Divisional Commissioner, who heads the TTZ, have supported the demand for declaring Agra a heritage city.
In the race for a Smart City tag, heritage structures in Agra are under threat, stakeholders say. The haphazard growth of urban clusters encroaching on the free space around monuments and the alarming rise in pollution levels have compelled rethinking whether becoming a Smart City was the answer to Agras problems.
Green activists and conservationists have now demanded that the Union government approach Unesco to secure the World Heritage City status for Agra. The Supreme Court is already seized of the matter. A month ago, it said in deep anguish: "Restore or demolish the Taj Mahal."
In the past few weeks, the Supreme Court has taken a tough stand on conservation of heritage monuments, including the 17th century monument of love, the Taj Mahal, on the PIL of eco-lawyer M.C. Mehta who has been constantly monitoring developments in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), the eco-sensitive 10,040 sq km area around the monument.
Local conservation activists and NGOs say the tag will conserve monuments and the essential character of Agra, which could get lost in a Smart City. Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society president Surendra Sharma asked: "If not Agra, with three World Heritage monuments and dozens of smaller historical buildings, then which other Indian city qualifies for this status? Agra is unique not just architecturally but for its culture, for its history, the cuisine and its lifestyle. Mandarins in the Agra Development Authority and a caucus of so-called builders want to destroy the past by snapping the umbilical chords that connect Agra to a glorious past."
Medieval historians have described Agra as a cosmopolitan city, bigger than London and Paris at the time. "Agra soaks in history. Home to the Taj Mahal, two other Unesco World Heritage sites -- the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri -- every nook and corner tells a story of its splendid past," conservationist Rajiv Saxena pointed out.
A heritage city tag will help conserve historical buildings, old havelis, water bodies, forests and even the old city`s oriental market, environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya added.
In 2007, the Union Tourism Ministry told the Supreme Court that Agra could not be granted heritage city status because it lacked basic infrastructure and sought time to develop this. But till date, the city does not have regular air connectivity, streamlined roads, adequate security arrangements for visitors and other related facilities.
Travel writers like Lucy Peck have suggested starting Heritage Walks through the interiors of the city to acquaint foreign visitors with its live heritage, the life and vocations of the locals. Several international bodies, including Unesco, have supported projects to restore the Taj city`s old glory.
"A city so rich in culture and architecture, where every street has a historical building, needs to be recognised as a heritage city and the Union ministry should draw up plans to remove encroachments around tourist sites," conservationist Shravan Kumar Singh contended.
The chief reason why tourism has not become "everybody`s business" in Agra and not directly benefited the locals in a substantial manner is the lack of heritage consciousness, he added.
Even today, the city retains the original names and the functions of various places also remain largely the same.
"Yes, in the so-called modern Agra there is evidence of haphazard planning and irrational growth, but then those are not the heritage pieces one would like preserved," explained N.R. Smith, a meticulous chronicler of Agra`s modern history.
"We have to begin by demarcating the areas as Mughal Agra, British Agra and the Agra Development Authority`s Agra. Only then can one go ahead with conserving the real heritage of the city of the Taj Mahal. And those who think people and their work places need to be demolished to make way for modern malls or parking slots are only hurting the spirit of conservation," Smith added.
Eminent Mughal historian R. Nath said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is not doing enough to sincerely conserve monuments according to the manual laid down by John Marshall, who was the ASI chief during 1902-1928 and was responsible for the discovery of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, the two main cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
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