Canada Announces Surtaxes on Various Products from the United States

The United States announced that, effective June 1, 2018, the exemption granted to Canada, Mexico and the European Union from the 25% surtax on Canadian steel imports and the 10% surtax on Canadian aluminum imports will not be extended.

In response to this waiver, Canada announced that it would apply surtaxes to various products from the United States. As indicated in the notice issued by the Canadian Department of Finance, “these countermeasures will apply only to goods originating in the United States, that is, goods qualifying for marking as United States goods pursuant to the Determination of Country of Origin of Goods (NAFTA Countries) Regulations”.

Products such as maple syrup, roasted coffee, sugar, whiskey, insecticides, etc. may be subject to surcharges, in addition to certain American steel and aluminum products. This would total approximately $16.6 billion in imports to Canada and represent total steel and aluminum exports to the United States. Surcharges would be set at 25% on some US products and 10% on others. These surtaxes would take effect July 1, 2018.

To know all the products likely to be affected by the surtaxes that the Canadian government intends to impose, consult the notice issued by the Department of Finance of Canada. It is also possible for Canadian industries to file comments until June 15, 2018.