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Product cover image for Algoma Steel: Responding to Trump’s Tariff Threat

Algoma Steel: Responding to Trump’s Tariff Threat

Haiou Liu, Haiying Wang, William Wei, Yazhi Zheng

Product #:W45579
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:International Business, Strategy
Setting:Canada, 2025
Details:Case (PDF) • 10 pages • 2025-09-29

Subjects:

Business managementInternational businessStrategy

Industries:

Fabrication and manufacturing

Geography:

CanadaNorth America
Your Price:$9.71

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In 2025, Algoma Steel Inc. (Algoma), a leading Canadian steel manufacturer, confronted renewed US tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act that resulted in a 25 per cent duty on steel imports. The policy shift triggered a CA$24.5 million net loss in the first quarter of 2025, reversing a CA$28 million profit from the previous year. The case explores Algoma’s strategic responses—market diversification, cost optimization through electric arc furnace (EAF) technology, and policy advocacy—amid trade tensions and the global push for decarbonization. Algoma’s case highlights how firms can navigate trade wars through strategic diversification, cost innovation, and policy engagement. The EAF transition exemplifies how industrial decarbonization can align profitability with sustainability.

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate business administration courses in international business, strategic management, and trade policy. It can also be used in executive education programs in supply chain resilience and industrial policy. In working through the case and assignment questions, students will do the following:
  • Evaluate the effects of trade tariffs on firm profitability and global supply chains.
  • Assess strategic responses to external shocks, including diversification, cost optimization, and policy engagement.
  • Analyze the role of sustainable technology such as EAF in enhancing long-term competitiveness
  • Debate the trade-offs between short-term lobbying and long-term operational resilience.
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Case Study: Algoma Steel: Responding to Trump’s Tariff Threat (English version) | Ivey Publishing