Canadian steel companies pay millions after U.S says they didn’t pay proper tariffs

The U.S. Department of Justice says two Canadian steel companies have agreed to pay $19 million to resolve allegations they knowingly failed to pay proper duties on flat-rolled steel manufactured in Europe and Asia.

The department says in a news release that from May 2019 through January 2025, Farjess Inc. and Royal Canadian Steel Inc., along with part-owner and president Feroz Jessani, misrepresented the country of origin of steel as Canadian and American.

The department says the companies knew the steel was from China, Indonesia, Italy, Turkey or Vietnam.

For much of that time period, steel imports compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade didn’t face duties.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports in February 2025, and later increased the duty to 50 per cent.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate says the U.S. Justice Department will “zealously pursue anyone who fraudulently evades the duties owed on steel products imported into this country.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2026. 

By Kelly Geraldine Malone | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.