Import/export tax

The United States lifts surtaxes on steel and aluminum

The U.S. government recently announced that it was lifting surtaxes that it had imposed on some Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum products. In fact, In June 2018 the United States imposed a 25% surtax on some Canadian and Mexican steel products and a 10% surtax on some Canadian and Mexican aluminum products.

The U.S. government recently announced that it was lifting surtaxes that it had imposed on some Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum products. In fact, In June 2018 the United States imposed a 25% surtax on some Canadian and Mexican steel products and a 10% surtax on some Canadian and Mexican aluminum products.

Canada and Mexico also announced lifting surtaxes on various U.S. products that they had targeted in response to the surtaxes imposed by the United States. It should be recalled that Canada imposed a 10% surtax on various U.S. products such as whiskeys, ketchup and toilet paper and some U.S. aluminum products. Canada had also imposed a 25% surtax on some U.S. steel products. 

Since when are surtaxes no longer applicable in Canada?

Since May 19, 2019, Order SOR/2018-152 and Order SORS/2018-153 imposing surtaxes on some products originating in the United States, have been repealed. Please note that Canadian importers are no longer required to pay surtaxes pursuant to the orders mentioned above. 

May 19, 2019 is the release date (cut off) and not the accounting date (payment) of the subject goods. For example, if a shipment has been released by the CBSA on May 19, surtaxes will no longer apply. However, if the shipment was released by the CBSA before May 19, surtaxes apply, even if the transaction is paid (accounting) after May 19. 

Furthermore, for those who were using the remission order, as of May 19, it is no longer necessary to encode B3 coding forms with the remission order number and the SIMA exemption code to be exempt from surtaxes.      

Moving toward CUSMA ratification?

Previously, Canada and Mexico had stated that the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement would not be ratified as long as surtaxes would remain in place. Now that the biggest obstacle is cleared, Prime Minister Trudeau says he wants to ratify the agreement soon.

However, considering the tense relationship between the White House and the U.S. Congress, U.S. ratification of CUSMA could prove to be more complex.

For any additional information, our consultation service remains at your disposal at consultations@w2c.ca or by telephone at 514 368-2637, option 2.

To find out more: 

Rabson, Mia (2019, 20 mai). « Au tour du Canada de lever ses tarifs douaniers ». Sur le site quebec.huffingtonpost.ca.

Rabson, Mia ( 2019, 20 mai). « Accord Canada-États-Unis-Mexique :fin des tarifs douaniers ». Sur le site lesoleil.com.

Radio-Canada (2019, 21 mai). « Encore des obstacles avant la ratification du nouvel ALENA par le Congrès américain ». Sur le site ici.radio-canada.ca.

TVA Nouvelles et Agence QMI (2019, 17 mai). « Tarifs douaniers : les États-Unis, le Canada et le Mexique s’entendent ». Sur le site tvanouvelles.ca.


Please note that all information on this blog is subject to change. All blog articles are for information purposes only. We are always available to answer in detail any questions our clients may have regarding the information in this blog.

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About the author
With over 25 years of experience in customs brokerage, transportation and logistics, Marc has acquired a solid expertise in improving logistics and customs performance for Canadian importers and exporters.