Canada Tariffs on US Goods: Exporter Compliance Guide

Canada's tariff posture toward US goods shifted dramatically starting March 4, 2025, when Ottawa imposed 25% retaliatory surtaxes on C$30 billion in American imports (Canada.ca, 2025). By September 1, 2025, Canada rolled back most of those measures for CUSMA-compliant goods, but 25% tariffs on imports steel, aluminum, and automotive imports remain in force (CBSA, 2025). For US exporters shipping to Canadian buyers, the question isn't whether Canada- US tariff matter. It's whether your origin documentation is airtight enough to survive a CBSA audit. See also: Mexico trade compliance.

Key Takeaways:

• Canada's 25% retaliatory tariffs on US steel and aluminum remain active as of March 2026; the US Section 232 steel tariff on Canadian exports increased to 50% in June 2025 (Congress.gov, 2025)
• CUSMA-compliant goods enter Canada duty-free across most tariff lines (over 98% of US-Canada bilateral trade qualifies), but incorrect origin certification voids that benefit immediately (CBSA, 2025)
• Canada's de minimis threshold for duty-free imports is CAD $20 for non-CUSMA shipments, far below the US $800 US threshold. Commercial shipments above CAD $150 from CUSMA-origin sources may qualify for duty relief (CBSA, 2025)
• Records supporting CUSMA origin claims must be retained for six years from the date of importation. False claims carry financial penalties (Tradecommissioner.gc.ca, 2025)
• CUSMA's formal review is scheduled for July 1, 2026; Oxford Economics estimates that losing the exemption would cause multi-year economic scarring for Canada (Global News, December 2025)

What tariffs apply right now

The tariff picture as of early 2026 is not a blanket measure. It's sector-specific, layered, still evolving. Most US goods enter Canada duty-free under CUSMA. The exceptions are the ones that sting.

Steel and aluminum exported from the US to Canada face a 25% Canadian surtax with no CUSMA exemption. The reason: the US has maintained its own Section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, raised to 50% in June 2025, without offering a reciprocal CUSMA carve-out for Canadian exports. Canada matched that posture. Automotive imports from the US also face 25% Canadian retaliatory tariffs, because the US kept auto tariffs in place without an equivalent CUSMA exception (Blakes, 2025).

Outside those sectors, the situation cleared significantly on September 1, 2025. The C$30 billion Phase 1 list of US consumer and industrial goods, which had faced 25% surtaxes since March 4, 2025, was fully exempted. Dairy, grains, cosmetics, packaged foods. Gone. For the vast majority of US exporters, the Canadian market reopened to near-normal access.

The wrinkle is that "near-normal" still requires doing the paperwork correctly.

How origin certification affects your duties

CUSMA certification is where compliance breaks down in practice. We talk to export managers who assume their goods qualify simply because they're manufactured in the US. That's not how it works.

To claim preferential tariff treatment (meaning zero or reduced duty entering Canada), the exporter, producer, or importer must certify origin using nine mandatory data elements (CBSA, 2025). There's no prescribed form. The certification can appear directly on the commercial invoice. What it cannot do is contain errors: a false claim for CUSMA treatment is a penalty event, and CBSA audits are not rare.

The certification must include the HS code to the six-digit level, a clear statement that the good qualifies as originating, and the certifier's address within CUSMA territory. If multiple producers are involved, "Various" is acceptable, but records proving each supplier's originating status still need to exist. CBSA can request those records, conduct site visits and verify the entire chain.

Blanket certifications cover recurring shipments of identical goods and are valid for up to 12 months. They need to be reassessed annually, and any time a supplier changes or a manufacturing process shifts. Most companies we see skip the reassessment step entirely. That's the gap CBSA tends to find.

Using the tariff finder: What it can and cannot tell you

The Canada Tariff Finder, operated by the CBSA, is the primary free tool for looking up applicable duty rates by HS code and country of origin. It's genuinely useful for standard goods with clean CUSMA status. For steel, aluminum, or auto products, or anything where a surtax stacks on top of the base rate, the Tariff Finder's numbers are incomplete.

Here's what the tool won't catch: tariff stacking. A Canadian import of an aluminum-containing auto part that qualifies for CUSMA will be exempt from the 25% auto surtax. But if that same part appears on the aluminum derivatives list, CUSMA exemption from the auto tariff does not shield it from the 50% aluminum surtax (PwC Canada, 2025). For more context, see our guide on Dual-Use Goods to India: 2026 License Requirements for Exporters. The duty calculation depends on which tariff authority applies first and whether claiming CUSMA creates or eliminates exposure.

A machine parts exporter in Ohio ran into exactly this problem in late 2025. Their parts cleared tariff classification cleanly. A subset contained aluminum derivative components added to the Section 232 derivatives list in August 2025, covering 400+ new HTS codes with 50% ad valorem rates on the metal content, effective immediately with no transit exemption (Blakes, 2025). The duty bill on that subset was $340,000 more than their canada import duty calculator estimate had projected. Eight weeks to unwind. For a product line they'd been shipping without incident for two years.

Use the Tariff Finder for initial classification, then cross-reference against the CBSA's active surtax orders for your specific HS codes before quoting prices to Canadian buyers. The two databases are not automatically synchronized.

Why the 2026 cusma review matters

The July 2026 CUSMA review is a compliance event, not just a diplomatic one. US exporters need to treat it as such.

CUSMA currently covers over 98% of tariff lines between the US and Canada, providing duty-free access that is the foundation of most SMB export pricing to Canadian customers (Tradecommissioner.gc.ca, 2025). If the review produces unfavorable outcomes, partial withdrawal, sectoral side letters, or a failure to renew, the effective tariff rate on US goods entering Canada could increase substantially across categories that today carry zero duty.

Oxford Economics' baseline forecast as of December 2025 projected a renegotiation resulting in lower but permanent US tariffs on key Canadian export sectors. International trade lawyer William Pellerin described the potential loss of the CUSMA exemption as a "nuclear option," one that remains on the table (Global News, December 2025). The Bank of Canada pegged the effective average us tariff rate on Canada at 5.9% in October 2025. Strip out CUSMA, and that number doesn't stay near 6%.

Our position: audit CUSMA certification coverage across all Canadian-bound product lines now, before the review, not after. Identify which items have marginal origin qualification. Build documentation records that survive a tightened verification environment Waiting to see what emerges from the July talks is the wrong call.

What doesn't work: Common errors in canada tariff compliance

The failure mode we see most often: treating CUSMA as a checkbox rather than an ongoing process.

A US electronics distributor filed blanket CUSMA certifications in July 2025 covering a product line sourced partially from a new Malaysian subcontractor added in April. The origin qualification for those components was never reassessed. CBSA verified the certification during a November 2025 audit, found the Malaysian-sourced inputs did not meet the applicable product-specific rule of origin under CUSMA Annex 4-B, as well as assessed back duties plus penalties on eight months of shipments. The total bill cleared $180,000 CAD.

The certification was accurate when filed. The problem was the supplier change that invalidated it. CUSMA explicitly requires exporters or producers who discover their certifications contain incorrect information to promptly notify all affected importers (Tradecommissioner.gc.ca, 2025). That notification step is almost never built into supplier onboarding workflows. We've yet to see a company that had it before their first CBSA audit.

A second common error: treating the "Made in USA" label as a proxy for CUSMA origin. Canadian tariffs on US goods are assessed based on where goods were produced and whether they meet product-specific rules, not where they were shipped from. Goods produced outside the US, routed through a US distribution center, plus exported with American documentation still carry non-originating status at the CBSA. Origin is determined by the Determination of Country of Origin regulations, not the exporter's shipping paperwork.

FAQ

What tariffs apply to US goods in 2026?

As of March 2026, Canada's retaliatory 25% surtax applies to US steel, aluminum products and automotive imports. Most other US goods enter Canada duty-free if CUSMA-compliant. Non-CUSMA-compliant goods face a base MFN duty rate determined by the product's HS code. The IEEPA-based 35% US tariff on non-CUSMA Canadian goods was struck down by US courts on February 20, 2026, as well as replaced with a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the US Trade Act.

How does the cbsa tariff finder work, and is it reliable?

The CBSA Tariff Finder calculates base duty rates by HS code and origin country. It provides accurate base rates for most commercial goods but does not incorporate active surtax orders for steel, aluminum derivatives, or automotive products. For goods in those categories, cross-reference the CBSA's surtax schedules manually before finalizing landed cost estimates.

What documentation does a US exporter need to claim cusma duty-free treatment into canada?

A certification of origin containing nine mandatory data elements: certifier name and address, exporter details, producer information, importer details, HS code to six digits, description of goods, blanket period if applicable, authorized signature, plus date. No prescribed form exists. The certification can appear on the invoice. Records must be retained for six years.

Do tariffs apply to goods shipped through a third country?

Goods that transit a third country retain their US origin status for CUSMA purposes if they remain under customs control in the transit country and undergo no transformation there. If goods are processed or enter commerce in a third country before reaching Canada, they may lose CUSMA originating status and face applicable MFN or surtax rates at the CBSA.

What happens if a cusma certification is wrong?

CBSA can retroactively assess duties plus penalties and interest on all shipments covered by an incorrect certification. Voluntary disclosure before a CBSA audit typically results in reduced penalties. After an audit initiates, full duty plus administrative penalties apply. Exporters who discover errors are legally required to notify affected importers promptly under CUSMA Chapter 5.

The tariff situation between Canada and the US has stabilized relative to the volatility of early 2025, but stable is not the same as resolved. The steel and aluminum sectors, along with automotive, remain under active retaliatory measures on both sides, with no sector-specific deal in sight before the July 2026 CUSMA review. That review carries real uncertainty — not about process, but about outcomes. The platform tracks HS code-level duty rate changes and CBSA surtax schedule updates across product categories in real time, so your classification data doesn't lag behind the actual tariff environment. The compliance window before the CUSMA review is shorter than most US exporters currently expect.

Platforms like Lenzo, Descartes, and SAP GTS offer consolidated screening and classification for SMB exporters.