Canadian manufacturers are scrambling to manage a sudden expansion in the number of products hit by the United States’ hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce added 407 new categories to the list of products that are subject to 50-per-cent metal tariffs. These include a broad range of “derivative” products, ranging from packaging materials to household appliances and large machinery.

The move, done at the request of American companies looking to be folded into U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist regime, significantly expands the scope of the sectoral tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

That means many Canadian manufacturers who previously thought they’d dodged tariffs are now clambering to figure out

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