Canada's surtax orders and remission orders: counter-tariffs on U.S. goods, surtaxes on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, changes to the lists of affected tariff items, the conditions and periods for remission, and the related CBSA Customs Notices.
The Canada Border Services Agency states in Customs Notice 25-24 that the Order Imposing a Surtax on the Importation of Certain Steel Goods (SOR/2025-148), as amended by SOR/2025-155, SOR/2025-266 and SOR/2026-0119, applies a 50% surtax on the value for duty of certain steel goods originating outside Canada, the United States and Mexico, with the SOR/2026-0119 amendments effective June 27, 2026 extending the tariff rate quota surtax until June 27, 2027 and changing Schedules 1 and 2.
CBSA states in Customs Notice 25-26 that CREDITS Program participants may submit refund claims where surtax was paid at importation, provided the claims meet all other CREDITS requirements. Surtax claims must be sent in a separate batch, with the surtax and duty amounts combined in the Duty field, and a CREDITS Surtax Template must be emailed to the Revenue Assessment Unit by midnight of the same day the batches were transmitted, one template per batch. A batch received with surtax claims but without the template is treated as non-compliant, resulting in an Administrative Monetary Penalty and placement on upfront review.
Why it matters: CREDITS participants claiming refunds of surtax paid at importation must file those claims in a separate batch and send the CREDITS Surtax Template to the Revenue Assessment Unit by midnight of the transmission day, or face an Administrative Monetary Penalty and upfront review.
The Canada Border Services Agency advises that the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) has been amended to grant relief of surtaxes paid or payable under the United States Surtax Order (2025-1), the United States Surtax Order (2026), the United States Surtax Order (Steel and Aluminum 2025) and the United States Surtax Order (Motor Vehicles 2025) for eligible goods, including goods imported for use in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and for public health, health care, public safety and national security uses.
Why it matters: Importers claiming relief under the amended Order must file with the CBSA within two years of importation, meet the applicable importation deadline and hold documents substantiating the goods' eligible use.
Canada's Department of Finance states that the Canadian International Trade Tribunal issued its report in the safeguard inquiry into whether global imports of certain canned and frozen vegetables are causing or threatening serious injury to Canadian producers, and that the government will review it and announce its decision in due course. The 10 per cent surtax on global imports of canned vegetables announced on June 10, 2026, remains in place for its maximum duration of 200 days or until it is replaced by final safeguard measures. The inquiry was initiated on March 13, 2026, when the government directed the CITT to examine those imports.
CBSA states in Customs Notice 26-23 that, effective September 8, 2026, certain goods imported into Canada and originating in the United States are subject to a surtax of 15%, 25% or 50% of the value for duty under the United States Surtax Order (2026), with the Schedules to the Order listing the goods and applicable rates. The surtax applies only to goods that originate in the U.S. and does not apply to goods eligible to be marked as originating from Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Why it matters: Importers of U.S.-origin goods must declare the applicable 15%, 25% or 50% surtax when accounting from September 8, 2026, and hold proof of origin and, for in-transit goods, proof of transit.
CBSA states in Customs Notice 26-20 that goods subject to tariff rate quotas entered into a customs bonded warehouse must have a valid shipment-specific import permit issued by Global Affairs Canada to be accounted for at the "within access" rate of duty, and that the permit's validity period must cover the date the goods exit the warehouse. The notice says this is a clarification of existing application, not a change in policy, and applies to all goods subject to TRQs.
Why it matters: Importers using a customs bonded warehouse must hold a shipment-specific import permit valid through the date goods exit the warehouse, and must amend the Type 10 CAD before filing an ex-warehouse movement at the "within access" rate.
CBSA states in Customs Notice 26-17 that, effective July 31, 2026, certain wood cabinets and vanities and their subassemblies imported into Canada for commercial purposes are subject to a 25% surtax on value for duty under the Certain Wood Cabinet and Vanity Goods Surtax Order, for a period of up to 200 days while the CITT conducts a safeguard inquiry.
Global Affairs Canada's Notice to Importers Serial No. 1163, effective June 13, 2026, replaces Serial No. 1160 and sets out the policies and procedures for administering the tariff-rate quotas on certain steel goods in item 82 of the Import Control List, above which a 50% surtax applies. The Third Amending Surtax Order, effective June 28, 2026, adjusts TRQ volumes for the Hot-Rolled Sheet, Cold-Rolled Sheet, Hot-Rolled Bar, Structural Steel and Stainless Steel Billets and Blooms classes from non-FTA partners and the Hot-Rolled Sheet, Steel Plate and Cold-Rolled Sheet classes from non-CUSMA FTA partners, and reassigns certain tariff classification numbers from the Hot-Rolled Sheet to the Cold-Rolled Sheet class.
The Canada Border Services Agency states in Customs Notice 25-05 that the China Surtax Remission Order (2024), SOR/2025-12, effective January 31, 2025, relieves surtaxes paid or payable under the China Surtax Order (2024) on eligible goods in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2, granted under section 115 of the Customs Tariff. The updated notice aligns with the Order Amending the China Surtax Remission Order (2024) and sets out special authorization codes 25-054A through 25-054M for the Special Authority OIC field on the Commercial Accounting Declaration, each tied to specific Schedule 2 items and import periods.
Global Affairs Canada states in Notice Serial No. 1162 that, from March 1, 2026, imports of electric vehicles originating in China under Import Control List items 195 (1) to (3) require a shipment-specific import permit and are administered under a quota, with 24,500 vehicles available on a first-come, first-served basis for March 1, 2026 to August 31, 2026. Eligible EVs are assessed at a most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%, and the 100% surtax under the China Surtax Order (2024) has been repealed.