US tariffs on Canada

The tariff desk

A living register of the duties that actually hit a $5M to $50M operator, a margin calculator you can run in a minute, and the operational read after every change. Facts first. Then the mandate.

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The register

Type of tariff, authority, products, countries, current rate, effective date, legal status, whether a refund is even possible, the official source, and the date we last opened that source.

Working register. Rows are cited to primary or first-order sources and were last checked on 26 August 2026. They are not yet signed off against the governing proclamation or CBP entry practice. Do not treat a rate here as advice to classify, enter, or protest.

  1. 01

    Section 232 core metal articles

    50% ad valorem on full customs value

    Steel, aluminium and copper articles made entirely or almost entirely of the metal (HTSUS 72/73, 76, 74)

    Authority
    Trade Expansion Act s.232 · proclamation of 2 April 2026
    Countries
    United States inbound, including Canada
    In force
    6 April 2026
    Legal status
    In force. CUSMA origin does not remove the duty on core articles.
    Refundable
    No, not through the IEEPA refund process
    Last checked
    2026-08-26
    White & Case note on the 2 April 2026 proclamation
  2. 02

    Section 232 derivative metal articles

    25% ad valorem on full customs value

    Derivative steel, aluminium and copper articles not almost entirely metal. Goods at or under 15% metal content are out of scope.

    Authority
    Trade Expansion Act s.232 · proclamation of 2 April 2026, Annex I-B
    Countries
    United States inbound, including Canada
    In force
    6 April 2026
    Legal status
    In force. Assessed on the whole article, not only the metal content.
    Refundable
    No, not through the IEEPA refund process
    Last checked
    2026-08-26
    PwC Canada, US tariffs on steel, aluminium and copper
  3. 03

    Section 232 on CUSMA-qualifying derivatives

    25% on non-US content; 0% on US content up to 40% of value; effective duty not less than 15%

    CUSMA-origin derivative steel, aluminium and copper articles from Canada or Mexico

    Authority
    s.232 · CUSMA preferential treatment through 31 December 2027
    Countries
    Canada and Mexico into the United States
    In force
    8 June 2026
    Legal status
    In force until 31 December 2027, if origin is documented.
    Refundable
    No. Origin changes the rate. It does not create a refund.
    Last checked
    2026-08-26
    Blakes, US–Canada tariffs timeline
  4. 04

    IEEPA / reciprocal-style duties

    Varies by action and entry date. Confirm on the entry, not from a blended average.

    Goods entered under the IEEPA actions, not Section 232 metals and not Section 301

    Authority
    International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as applied to the 2025–26 reciprocal programme
    Countries
    United States inbound. Canadian sellers qualify only if they were the importer of record.
    In force
    See the entry and the governing order
    Legal status
    Contested. Refunds, where they exist, follow the IEEPA ruling, not a 232 or 301 protest.
    Refundable
    Possibly, if the duty was IEEPA and the importer of record files. Section 232 and 301 stay out.
    Last checked
    2026-08-26
    CBP · importer of record and protest practice
  5. 05

    Section 338 additional duties on Canadian goods

    Additional 50% ad valorem

    Canadian-origin goods on 554 tariff lines at launch. Headline categories: alcoholic beverages, dairy, motor vehicles; lines include maple syrup, plywood and hockey equipment. Modification proclamations effective 15 September 2026 add lines (furniture, several cheeses, structural iron and steel, aluminium profiles, electric lamps, motorboats, vehicles under 1,000 cc) and remove others (salt, Portland cement, certain sugars, refined lead, switchgear). Goods already under Section 232, and civil aircraft, are exempt.

    Authority
    Tariff Act of 1930 s.338 · Proclamations 11046, 11047 and 11048 of 20 July 2026
    Countries
    Canada into the United States
    In force
    22 August 2026 (delayed from 19 August)
    Legal status
    In force, list modified effective 15 September 2026. From 29 September 2026, specified lines move from the 50% duty to an outright import ban: packaged beer, wine and spirits, certain whey and dairy lines, and motorcycles over 800 cc. Banned goods not entered before that date stay at 50%. CUSMA origin does not exempt a listed good. No in-transit exception.
    Refundable
    No, not through the IEEPA refund process
    Last checked
    2026-09-11
    Troutman Pepper Locke on the Section 338 proclamations of 8 September 2026
  6. 06

    Canadian countermeasures on US goods

    15%, 25% or 50% by tariff item, set to match the US rate on the same goods. The 25% surtaxes in place since September 2025 remain; some lines doubled to 50%.

    Listed US goods into Canada: steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, electronics, seafood, clothing and others, about C$27.6B of annual imports

    Authority
    United States Surtax Order (2026) · Order in Council of 4 September 2026 · CBSA Customs Notice 26-23
    Countries
    United States into Canada
    In force
    8 September 2026
    Legal status
    In force
    Refundable
    No automatic US refund. Canadian remission continues under the US Remission Framework and is claimed at entry, not as a refund.
    Last checked
    2026-09-09
    Department of Finance Canada, counter-tariff list of 8 September 2026

What changed this week

Each regulatory change carries the date, the old regime, the new regime, who is hit, and the operational implication for a $5M to $50M business.

2026-09-15
Old regime

Section 338 was one instrument: an additional 50% on 554 lines of Canadian goods, with alcohol, dairy and motor vehicles as headline categories.

Businesses concerned

Canadian exporters and US importers of record on the modified lines — furniture makers, cheese producers, structural steel and aluminium shops, and packaged alcohol shippers most of all.

New regime

Five proclamations of 8 September escalate it. Effective 15 September the 50% list changes: furniture, several cheeses, structural iron and steel, aluminium profiles, electric lamps, motorboats and vehicles under 1,000 cc come on; salt, Portland cement, certain sugars, refined lead and switchgear come off. Effective 29 September, specified lines move from duty to import ban: packaged beer, wine and spirits, certain whey and dairy lines, and motorcycles over 800 cc. Banned goods not entered before that date stay at 50%.

Operational implication

Operational implication for a $5M to $50M business: the list you checked in August is not the list. Re-run every US-bound SKU against the 15 September annexes. And if you ship packaged alcohol, whey or large motorcycles, the question after 29 September is no longer the duty — it is whether the good can enter at all.

Troutman Pepper Locke on the Section 338 proclamations of 8 September 2026
2026-09-14
Old regime

Entry summaries for copper articles could be filed without smelt and cast country data; missing data did not block the entry.

Businesses concerned

Importers and brokers filing US entries with copper content under the Section 232 copper action.

New regime

From 14 September 2026, ACE rejects entry summaries that are missing the required copper smelt and cast country information.

Operational implication

Operational implication for a $5M to $50M business: a data gap is now a stopped shipment, not a footnote. Confirm with your broker this week that smelt and cast countries are on file for every copper-bearing SKU, or the entry does not clear.

C.H. Robinson, Section 232 changes for aluminium, copper and steel
2026-09-08
Old regime

Canadian countermeasures sat at 25% on listed US steel and aluminium, in place since September 2025.

Businesses concerned

Canadian importers of listed US goods, and any Canadian operation whose inputs cross from the United States.

New regime

The United States Surtax Order (2026) applies 15%, 25% or 50% by tariff item on about C$27.6B of US goods — steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, electronics and more — set to match the US rate on the same goods. Some existing 25% lines doubled to 50%.

Operational implication

Operational implication for a $5M to $50M business: this one lands on your cost side, not your US price. Pull the tariff-item list against your US-sourced inputs before quarter-end, and claim remission at entry where the framework covers you — it is not paid back later as a refund.

Department of Finance Canada, counter-tariff list of 8 September 2026
2026-08-22
Old regime

Canadian alcohol, dairy and motor vehicles entered the United States under the general stack, with CUSMA preference where origin was documented.

Businesses concerned

Canadian exporters and US importers of record on the 554 listed lines, about $20B of annual imports.

New regime

An additional 50% under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 applies to Canadian-origin goods on 554 tariff lines — alcohol, dairy and motor vehicles as headline categories, with lines such as maple syrup, plywood and hockey equipment. CUSMA origin does not exempt a listed good; there is no in-transit exception. Effective 22 August after a three-day delay from 19 August.

Operational implication

Operational implication for a $5M to $50M business: a CUSMA certificate does not answer this one. Check your SKUs against the annexes line by line — being off-list is the only exemption that matters, apart from goods already under Section 232 and civil aircraft.

Davis Wright Tremaine on the Section 338 proclamations
2026-06-08
Old regime

25% Section 232 on agricultural machinery and selected residential HVAC. Preferential US-origin metal content at 95%.

Businesses concerned

Manufacturers and distributors of agricultural machinery, residential HVAC, and listed mobile industrial equipment entering the United States.

New regime

Those lines move to 15%. The same 15% extends to certain mobile industrial equipment. US-origin metal content for preference falls to 85%. In force to 31 December 2027.

Operational implication

Operational implication for a $5M to $50M business: re-price the US bid book on those lines this quarter. A 10-point drop on the duty is not automatic cash. It is a contract and a certificate problem. If the US-origin metal share is under 85%, you still pay the higher stack. Pull the bills of materials before you cut the surcharge.

Blakes, proclamation of 8 June 2026

Tariff margin calculator

Enter revenue, COGS, the share from an affected country, the duty rate, and how much of the cost you can pass through. The desk returns the hit to gross margin, the hit to EBITDA if operating costs stay put, and the price rise that would neutralize the shock. Email yourself a one-page PDF if you want the numbers off the screen.

What this does to the P&L
Duty on the exposed COGS
$210,000
Absorbed
$126,000
Price rise to neutralize the shock
2.1%
Recovered in price
$84,000
Gross margin after
$5,874,000 · 58.3%
EBITDA impact if opex is unchanged
-$126,000

Pass-through does not cover the full duty. The absorbed amount is the EBITDA hit.

Email the one-page report

The numbers stay on this page. Enter an email and we send the PDF, and download a copy here.

Indicative only. Not customs, legal or tax advice. You type the rate; we do not classify the goods.

By industry

The duty is the same instrument. The operational problem is not. Read the register first, then the industry you actually run.

Manufacturing

A plant that buys steel, aluminium or copper as input, or that ships a finished metal article into the United States, is on the 232 register. CUSMA origin on the finished good does not automatically clear the metal.

For a $5M to $50M shop: the first number is not the headline 50%. It is which of your SKUs are core articles, which are derivatives, and which sit under the 15% metal de minimis.

Read the industry page

Construction

Structural steel, HVAC, and imported equipment show up as project cost, not as a customs line the owner watches weekly. The duty lands in the bid, then in the holdback.

For a $5M to $50M contractor: reopen open bids that assumed the pre-June HVAC and machinery rates. A 10-point change on equipment is a margin event on a fixed-price job.

Read the industry page

Distribution

The wholesaler is often the importer of record. That is who files, who protests, and who owns a refund if one exists. The foreign seller on DDP terms usually does not.

For a $5M to $50M distributor: list every US entry for the last open year and mark IOR, authority, and whether the duty was 232, 301, or IEEPA. That list is the exposure.

Read the industry page

Food

Food is rarely a 232 metal problem. It is an IEEPA, origin, and pass-through problem. Retailers do not absorb a 15% landed-cost shock for a mid-market brand.

For a $5M to $50M food business: model the 40% pass-through case in the calculator before you promise the US buyer that the shelf price holds.

Read the industry page

Furniture

Finished goods and metal-content derivatives both appear. A sofa with enough steel can be a 232 derivative. A wooden line is a different authority entirely.

For a $5M to $50M furniture maker: split the catalogue into metal-derivative and not, then price the two books separately. A blended surcharge hides the SKUs you should stop shipping.

Read the industry page

Industrial products

Pumps, racks, plates, and mobile equipment moved on 8 June 2026. Some HVAC and agricultural machinery dropped from 25% to 15%. New derivative listings appeared.

For a $5M to $50M industrial supplier: pull the 8 June annex against your US SKUs this week. If a line moved, the old surcharge in the ERP is now wrong in both directions.

Read the industry page

Automotive suppliers

Tier-2 and tier-3 Canadian shops sell into US bills of materials that already assume CUSMA. 232 on the metal still sits under that assumption.

For a $5M to $50M auto supplier: the commercial conversation is not "we are CUSMA". It is "what share of this part is US-origin metal, and who is the IOR on the entry".

Read the industry page

Other mid-market operators

If you cross the border with goods, you have an authority, an IOR, and a rate. If you cannot name all three, you do not yet have an exposure number.

For a $5M to $50M business: run the calculator with your real COGS split, then book the exposure analysis. The register is the map. The mandate is the work on your lines.

CUSMA certificate of origin

A CUSMA certificate of origin claims preferential treatment under the Agreement. It proves origin. It does not, by itself, take a Section 232 metal duty off the entry. The full guide is its own page.

Read the CUSMA certificate guide
FAQ

Factual answers

Short answers an operator can use. Sources sit on the register and at the bottom of this page.

01Are Section 232 tariffs refundable?
Not through the IEEPA refund process. Section 232 on steel, aluminium and copper is a different authority. A protest or a scope ruling is a different file from an IEEPA refund. Do not assume a court decision on IEEPA moves a 232 entry.
02Can Canadian companies claim IEEPA refunds?
Only if they were the importer of record on the US entry, and only if the duty paid was actually IEEPA. A Canadian seller who shipped DDP but was not on the entry does not own the claim. The refund follows the IOR, not the flag of the company.
03How much does a 15% tariff reduce EBITDA?
On the client example: $10M revenue, $4M COGS, 35% from the affected country, 15% duty, 40% pass-through. Duty is $210,000. $84,000 is recovered in price. $126,000 is absorbed. If operating costs are unchanged, EBITDA falls by $126,000. Gross margin moves from 60.0% to 58.3%. Run your own numbers in the calculator.
04Who is the importer of record?
The party named as IOR on the CBP entry. That person or entity is responsible for classification, payment, and any protest or refund. Incoterms do not override the entry. If you are not sure who is on yours, pull the 7501 before you plan a claim.

Primary sources

Open these before you act on a rate. Secondary notes on this page are bridges to the instrument, not a substitute for it.

Keep reading

The register, the calculator, the certificate, the industries, and the mandate sit together. The old standalone calculator is not in this set.

The next step is an exposure analysis

The register tells you which instrument you are under. The calculator tells you the shape of the hit. A confidential discussion sizes the real lines, the contracts, and the cash. That is the start of a Tariff Response mandate, not a customs filing.

Request a tariff exposure analysisRead the Tariff Response mandate