Tariffs Toolkit

Tariff Toolkit

The United States has undertaken a back-and-forth approach to international trade, dabbling with various tariffs of changing rates and applicability. Updates on these various tariffs and the state of bilateral trade between Canada and the US are outlined below.

As a border community, the Langley Chamber knows the importance and value of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship -- one of the most fair, successful, and deeply integrated in the world. These destructive and counter-productive tariffs imposed by the US jeopardize this relationship, hurting businesses on both sides that have spent decades working together successfully through predictable trade policies, and punishing consumers and workers in both countries.

This page holds key information for Langley businesses to understand and navigate the tariffs and their economic impact. For questions or comments on the trade dispute, or to share resources for this page, please feel free to contact us at info@langleychamber.com

The Tariffs

US Broad-Based Tariffs

The United States imposed tariffs of 25% on Canadian goods and 10% on Canadian oil and gas imports on March 4. The new tariffs applied in addition to any other duties, fees, exactions, and charges applicable to the imports. The tariffs have since been exempted for goods that are compliant with the Canada-US-Mexico Trade Agreement. Non-CUSMA compliant goods are subject to a 25% tariff currently.

On April 2, the US announced global tariffs including a baseline of 10% on all countries, but not on Canada. Should the March 4 specific tariffs be removed, Canada will then be subject to a blanket tariff of 12% for non-CUSMA compliant goods, while preferential treatment for CUSMA-compliant goods will continue. See the "Mitigation Strategies" section for more information on what "CUSMA-compliant" means.

The President's order states that the tariffs apply to "all articles," implying all goods imported for use or consumption. At no time has the President talked about services. The 10% tariff is on “energy or energy resources” which was defined in a previous Executive Order as "crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals."

US Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

On Feb 10, the US government signed an executive order instituting a 25% tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. These tariffs went into effect March 12th, 2025. The U.S. Federal register notices for tariffs on steel and the tariffs on aluminum have now been published. These tariffs extend to a number of derivative products as well. Notably, the scope products covered is substantially larger than the scope of products covered in the steel and aluminum tariffs from 2018.

Exports which were not impacted by U.S. tariffs in 2018, may now be impacted. Businesses which export should check the HS tariff codes of their products against those in the federal register notices linked above. Many downstream products likely will be impacted (e.g. auto parts, furniture, gym equipment, agricultural equipment, construction equipment, etc.) You can also use the Tariff Finder tool to search the HS tariff code for items exporting to the US. Tariff Finder >

US Auto Tariffs

On March 26, President Trump signed an executive order instituting 25% tariffs on various automobiles made outside of the United States, that went into effect April 3, 2025 at 12:01am. Similar tariffs will be imposed on non-US auto parts no later than May 3, 2025.

The 25% tariff will be applied to imported passenger vehicles (sedans, SUVs, crossovers, minivans, cargo vans) and light trucks, as well as key automobile parts (engines, transmissions, powertrain parts, and electrical components), with processes to expand tariffs on additional parts if necessary. Importers of automobiles under the CUSMA will be given the opportunity to certify their U.S. content and systems will be implemented such that the 25% tariff will only apply to the value of their non-U.S. content. The regulations state that the tariff is applied when the vehicle is fully assembled, instead of imposing duties every time parts move back and forth across borders during production. Therefore, a car manufactured overseas with 20 percent U.S. content would face tariffs on the remaining 80 percent of its value.

USMCA-compliant automobile parts will remain tariff-free until the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), establishes a process to apply tariffs to their non-U.S. content.

Canada's Retaliatory Tariffs

In response, Canada has imposed tariffs of 25% on $30 billion in goods imported from the U.S. The list includes products such as orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliances, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics, and pulp and paper. The detailed list of the products impacted is here.

An additional $125 billion worth of US imports will be tariffed at 25% by Canada on April 2. The full list of these goods is here and is open for a public comment period prior to implementation. The list includes products such as passenger vehicles and trucks, including electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, aerospace products, beef, pork, dairy, trucks and buses, recreational vehicles, and recreational boats. Input on tariff measures should be provided by completing this form

On March 12, Canada announced further retaliatory tariffs of 25% on a list of steel products worth $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth $3 billion, as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion, for a total of $29.8 billion. The list of additional products affected by counter tariffs includes tools, computers and servers, display monitors, sport equipment, and cast-iron products. See the full list >

Canada has also imposed counter-tariffs of 25% on non-CUSMA autos and auto parts coming into Canada from the US. See the list of vehicles and parts included >

Exemptions, Rebates and Avoidance

CUSMA-Compliant Exemption:

The US has exempted Canadian exports from the 25% tariffs if they are 'CUSMA-compliant'. Finance Canada is interpreting ‘CUSMA-compliant’ trade based on whether companies claim CUSMA preferential treatment when exporting goods to the U.S. (i.e. by completing the necessary trade documentation for CUSMA tariff rates) and whether they meet the CUSMA rules of origin provisions. While many businesses did not bother with CUSMA paperwork, including Certificate of Origin, now is the time to transition your practice to meet these requirements so those exports can be exempt now, and possibly in the future. This may not be too burdensome as many products may already be complying with CUSMA's rules of origin requirements.

Read our blog post: "What is CUSMA-Compliant" for more information on this >

Canadian Retaliatory Tariff Exemptions:

6 Month Remission Process: To offset the rising costs caused by Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods, the Government of Canada has introduced a Remission Order to support affected sectors. If your business has been impacted by these tariffs on US imports into Canada -- and you are in the health care, manufacturing, or food/beverage processing sectors -- you may be eligible for relief. Read more on this >

Product-Specific Exemptions: The Canadian government will consider requests for exemption from the tariffs on US imports (known as “remission requests”) for specific circumstances where inputs cannot be sourced domestically or from non-US sources, or where severe adverse impacts to the broader economy may occur. Send your request to fin.remissions-remises.fin@canada.ca, including "U.S. Remission" in the subject line and follow the template laid out on this page.

Duty Drawback Program: Canada’s Drawback Program refunds duties paid on imported goods once they—or products made from them—are exported or destroyed, eliminating domestic duty costs for Canadian exporters. The program grants a drawback (refund) of duties that were paid on imported goods when the imported goods are later exported as-is, or when goods are used to produce other goods for export. More info >

Duties Relief Program: The Duties Relief Program from the Canada Border Services Agency allows qualified companies to import commercial goods without paying duties, as long as those goods are eventually exported. As part of the program, companies can manufacture or use the commercial goods in a limited manner before export. More info >

Webinars, Events and Readings

The Langley Chamber will work with strategic partners to deliver and share educational and information events about the tariffs. See upcoming sessions below:

American Chamber of Commerce in Canada: Responding to Reality Webinar
April 25 / Noon
Learn tips to understand and practically navigate the tariff reality facing cross-border businesses. Register >

Purolator: Navigating U.S.-Canada Trade: Importing and Exporting in a Tariff-Fueled Economy Part 1
Recorded
Get the latest updates on U.S. import tariffs, reciprocal duties, and de minimis thresholds Here >

Purolator: Navigating U.S.-Canada Trade: Importing and Exporting in a Tariff-Fueled Economy Part 2
Recorded
Get the latest updates on Canadian import tariffs, including affected commodities in Tranche 1 & Tranche 2, de minimis thresholds, and cost-saving strategies Here >

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A number of expert articles and resources are available for review and reading. A curated list of some such resources follow:

Trade and Tariff Data

Canada-US Trade Tracker: a new tool from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce designed to illustrate the ties between our two economies and gives you data to tell your American contacts, clients and customers why this trade war will hurt both sides

Most Tariff Exposed Cities: Read this report and tool to see which cities in Canada are most exposed to US tariffs. Langley is part of the 'Vancouver' district for this report, but likely shares many similarities with the 'Abbotsford-Mission' district which is much more potentially impacted.

Canada Tariff Finder: Quickly get tariff information for specific products and countries where Canada has a Free Trade Agreement

List of Initial US Goods To Be Tariffed by Canada: The initial list of US goods that will be tariffed when imported to Canada if implemented.

Full List of US Goods to be Tariffed: The full list of items to be tariffed when entering Canada from the US

Pacific Customs Brokers has extensive resources on tariffs, how they work, and more. Visit PCBglobaltrade.com/tariffs >

Mitigation Strategies

Businesses should be looking into their supply chains and markets, and how they would be impacted by either export tariffs by the US or Canadian retaliatory input tariffs.

CUSMA-Compliant

Read our blog post: "What is CUSMA-Compliant" for more information on this. >

Other Strategies

Strategies some exporters have used include pre-loading exports into the United States during any periods of exemption to build up tariff-free inventory in the US for fulfillment after. Some others have considered developing a US subsidiary to transfer product to at a lower, transfer price before marking-up and retailing into the US from there. Some exporters to the US may also wish to explore diversifying their markets and developing trading options outside of the US altogether using the resources below.

Importers of US goods need to understand the country or origin of their inputs, and consider diversifying their supply chain to non-US suppliers, whether from other international markets or from Canadian suppliers. The Langley Business Directory is a searchable database of 1150 Langley businesses which can help you shop for supplies and inputs locally. Langley Business Directory >

Tariff Toolkit

Resources

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