Does a CUSMA claim remove Canada's surtax on US goods?

Which US goods pay a Canadian surtax on November 11, 2026?

Three orders charge a surtax on US-origin goods as such, and a fourth reaches them without naming them. The one most lines meet is the newest.

The item counts and rates come from the order itself on Justice Laws; the codes from Customs Notice 26-23, Customs Notice 25-11, Customs Notice 25-15 and Customs Notice 25-33. The Steel Derivative Goods Surtax Order is not a US measure, but it has no US exclusion: a US-made derivative good whose tariff item is on none of the US schedules, such as metal office furniture of 9403.10.00 or steel modular building units of 9406.20.00, pays 25% under it. The 2026 order was made on September 4, 2026 (P.C. 2026-785) under subsection 53(2) of the Customs Tariff, and section 10 brought it into force on September 8, 2026. The examples in the "Goods" column are a reading guide, not the list: the schedules are lists of eight-digit tariff items, and only an exact tariff item match counts.

Customs Notice 26-23 says Canada introduced the surtax "in response to the U.S.' imposition of Section 338 tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. from Canada", with goods drawn from those targeted by the US Section 338 and Section 232 tariffs and rates "generally corresponding to the U.S. tariff rate". The US side of that dispute is covered in the Section 338 tariff on Canadian goods.

Which US surtax applied on which date?

Past lines are tested against the order in force on their own release date, and the US surtax has had a gap.

The repeal shows on the Justice Laws version of SOR/2025-66 from September 1, 2025. A 2026 line coded with the 2025-1 code, or a line released in the gap and charged a broad US surtax, is wrong in one direction or the other.

Why does a CUSMA claim leave the surtax on the line?

Three reasons, each in the instruments themselves.

The surtax is a separate charge from the customs duty. The customs duty is levied at the rate in the List of Tariff Provisions for the tariff treatment claimed. CUSMA's United States Tariff (UST) is one of those treatments, so a valid claim lowers the duty, usually to free. The surtax is imposed by a separate order under section 53 of the Customs Tariff, as "a surtax in the amount of" a percentage "of the value for duty". Nothing in SOR/2026-186 refers to the tariff treatment of the goods. Customs Notice 26-23 says the surtax is "in addition to any other duties owing", and its first two examples charge a 25% and a 50% surtax on goods with a 0% duty rate.

The origin test is a different test. Subsection 1(2) of the order says goods originate in the United States "if they are eligible to be marked as goods of the United States in accordance with the Determination of Country of Origin for the Purpose of Marking Goods (CUSMA Countries) Regulations". Those regulations decide which single country a good comes from, mostly by a tariff shift on each foreign material. The CUSMA preference rules decide whether a good qualifies for a lower rate, often by regional value content across all three countries. A good can pass one test and fail the other. A US-assembled good with Mexican parts can be a US good for the surtax and also CUSMA-originating; a good made in Mexico from US parts can be CUSMA-originating and still not a US good, so no US surtax applies to it. Country of origin for Canadian surtax works through the marking test on several products.

The exceptions in the order do not mention CUSMA. Section 2 lists four: Chapter 98 and 99 goods not on Schedule 4, goods in transit on September 8, 2026, Campobello Island residents' personal goods, and goods under an Import for Re-Export Program permit. A free-trade claim is not one of them.

The motor vehicle order is the exception that proves the rule. Subsection 2(2) of SOR/2025-118 charges US vehicles "entitled to the United States Tariff" 25% of the value for duty less the value of Canadian and Mexican goods used to make them, or less 15% of the value if no higher content is claimed. Vehicles not entitled to the UST pay 25% of the full value for duty. That is the only US surtax where a CUSMA entitlement changes the amount, and only because the order says so.

Worked line 1: US cotton T-shirts, with and without a CUSMA claim

The figures are illustrative and round. Knitted cotton T-shirts, tariff item 6109.10.00, cut and sewn in the United States, value for duty CAD 50,000, released on October 15, 2026, not in transit on September 8, 2026.

The Customs Tariff 2026, Chapter 61, lists 6109.10.00 at 18% MFN and free under the UST. The item is on Schedule 3 of SOR/2026-186, so the surtax is 50%, code 26186C. GST is 5% of the value plus duty plus surtax, under section 215 of the Excise Tax Act.

Field 85 is the number CBSA's surtax notices use; Memorandum D17-1-10 numbers the same Surtax field 68 in its electronic coding, and the CAD field by field explains both numberings. The CUSMA claim saves CAD 9,450 (the duty and the GST on it). The surtax is CAD 25,000 either way. A line that shows UST and no surtax, because "CUSMA goods are exempt", is short by CAD 25,000 plus CAD 1,250 of GST.

Now change one fact. The same T-shirts were cut and sewn in Honduras from US-made fabric and shipped to Canada from the US brand's warehouse. Under the Chapter 61 rule in the marking regulations, origin goes to the country where the garment underwent "substantial assembly", which is Honduras. They are not US goods, so no US surtax applies, whatever the invoice address. A line that charged 50% here overpaid CAD 25,000 plus GST.

Worked line 2: a US-built car, entitled and not entitled to the UST

Illustrative again. A passenger car, tariff item 8703.23.00, US origin, value for duty CAD 60,000, released October 15, 2026. The Customs Tariff 2026, Chapter 87, lists 8703.23.00 at 6.1% MFN and free under the UST, and 8703.23.00 is on Schedule 1 of the motor vehicle order.

If the importer can document Canadian and Mexican content above 15% of the value, the deduction grows; subsection 2(3) says the importer must provide the evidence when an officer asks for it.

What do people get wrong on US surtax lines?

Underpayments:

• UST claimed and no surtax declared, on the belief that CUSMA goods are exempt.
• A good shipped from Mexico or another country that is a US good under the marking rules. Customs Notice 26-23 says the surtax applies "even when exported from a country other than the U.S."
• A Schedule 3 good declared at 25%, or a Schedule 2 good at 15%: the codes are per schedule.
• A US-made steel derivative good on none of the US schedules declared with no surtax: the steel derivative surtax still applies at 25%, code 25267A.
• Low-value courier shipments left out. Customs Notice 26-23 says the surtax applies under the de minimis thresholds.
• GST charged on the value plus duty, without the surtax.

Overpayments:

• US surtax on goods that are not US goods under the marking rules, because the supplier or the ship-from address is American.
• Goods marked as from Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa or the US Virgin Islands, which Customs Notice 26-23 excludes.
• Both the 2026 surtax and the steel derivative surtax on one line. Customs Notice 26-23 says they "are not cumulative".
• Chapter 98 or 99 goods whose item is not on Schedule 4, which section 2(a) excludes.
• Goods in transit on September 8, 2026 with proof on file; see goods in transit when a Canadian surtax starts.
• Goods that qualified for remission and paid in full; see special authority codes on the CAD.

The surtax itself cannot be appealed. Customs Notice 26-23 says only CBSA determinations and re-determinations that decide whether or how much surtax applies can be disputed under the Customs Act. Underpayments go to a correction or adjustment of the CAD; overpayments to a refund adjustment within four years. The routes are in correcting a Canadian entry.

How do you check your own US-origin lines?

1. Pull every CAD line with a US origin, or a US supplier or ship-from address, released since March 4, 2025, with tariff item, tariff treatment, surtax code, field 85 and GST.
2. Match the tariff item to the order in force on the release date, using the date table above, and to the right schedule.
3. Test origin under the marking rules, not the CUSMA certification. Where the goods were made from foreign parts, or made elsewhere and shipped through the US, work out the marking origin.
4. Recompute the surtax on the value for duty and the GST on the full base.
5. Sort the differences into underpayments and overpayments, and check remission eligibility on the paid lines.

TariffSense reads CAD/B3 lines and broker accounting exports, matches each US-origin line against the surtax schedules in force on its release date, recomputes the surtax and GST, and flags lines where a CUSMA claim sits next to a missing surtax, where the schedule and the code disagree, or where the surtax was paid on goods outside the order. Filing stays with your broker. The duty calculator prices one line; the post-entry audit runs the check across your CADs, and the CAD audit guide covers the rest of the line.

What should you do next?

Filter your CADs since September 8, 2026 for US-origin lines that carry a UST claim and no surtax code, and check each tariff item against the three schedules of SOR/2026-186. Then look the other way: US-supplied goods made elsewhere that paid the surtax. Confirm any correction or refund with a licensed customs broker before you file.