Proponents of liquefied natural gas — including Squamish’s Woodfibre LNG — are speaking against a federal anti-dumping tariff that they say could stifle the industry’s growth in Canada.
Dumping refers to when manufacturers export a product to another country at a price below the normal price.
At question is a ruling made in May by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal that found the dumping of some goods from China, Korea and Spain have had a negative impact on Canada’s economy.
As a result, anti-dumping fees have been imposed on fabricated industrial steel components from those countries. These tariffs could reach up to 45.8 per cent.
Fabricated industrial steel components, also known as FISC, include parts that are needed to construct LNG facilities.
The BC LNG Alliance declared imposing fees on FISC from foreign countries will hurt Canadian LNG ventures, as it is necessary for local industry to import these parts.
“There are no Canadian manufacturers able to manufacture the large complex modules required by Canada's LNG sector,” an alliance representative told The Chief in an email.
“In order to proceed, LNG projects in B.C. cannot face additional costs that our competitors do not.”
Woodfibre LNG, a member of the alliance, has expressed similar concerns.
“As a member of the BC LNG Alliance, Woodfibre LNG is working with government to address some competitiveness issues,” wrote spokesperson Jennifer Siddon to The Chief in an email.
“Competitiveness issues are barriers to B.C. LNG projects that LNG projects in other jurisdictions are not facing, which is why new projects are being built in other jurisdictions even when natural gas prices are down.”
The tariff imposed will vary depending on a number of factors.
The Canada Border Services Agency said exporters that fully co-operated with investigations will not be hit with dumping penalties.
The anti-dumping duty will only apply if the normal value is greater than the price of goods imported into Canada, an agency representative told The Chief.
