The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that the latest upheaval in the Canadian steel and aluminum industries started before the first shipments even crossed the United States border and faced 25-per-cent tariffs on Tuesday. The Post's Gabriel Friedman writes that in the port city of Becancour, Que., an industrial plant that produces aluminum rods abruptly ceased operations Monday evening. In Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., 20 workers were laid off at a steel plant earlier that day. There have also been layoffs, production curtailments and general efforts in both sectors to ramp down spending in a hurry. Steel and aluminum, the only two sectors to face tariffs during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, are bracing for a more severe trade war this time. Mr. Trump is planning an additional 25-per-cent tariff on steel and aluminum on March 12, raising the total level to 50 per cent, and far more goods that use steel and aluminum, such as autos, are also affected by tariffs this time. Catherine Cobden, chief executive officer of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said: "We're at the worst end of this ... and there's not going to be any shrugging this off. It's bigger, deeper, faster" than last time.