Dear client,

Canada's retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-origin goods took effect September 8. Hours later that same evening, the White House responded with two more actions: a revised Section 338 tariff product list, taking effect September 15, and three proclamations excluding specific Canadian dairy, alcoholic beverage, and motor vehicle products from the U.S. altogether, taking effect September 29.

Three dates now matter for anyone moving goods across this border, and here's what each one changes.

Canada's counter-tariffs 

Canada's countermeasures took effect September 8, covering 648 HS classifications, with rates of 15%, 25%, or 50% depending on the product, each matched to the corresponding U.S. rate on the same good. They're a direct response to the U.S.'s own Section 338 tariff, which applied a 50% duty to $27.6 billion of Canadian goods when it took effect on August 22.

• 50%: steel and aluminum (up from an existing 25%, to match the U.S. Section 232 rate), dairy, pulp and paper, electronics.
• 15 to 25%: appliances, agricultural equipment, plastics, and a range of other goods.

Canada's existing counter-tariffs on U.S. autos are separate and continue to apply unchanged.

U.S. revises the Section 338 tariff list

The same evening, the White House modified which Canadian products carry the 50% Section 338 duty, effective September 15:

• Newly covered: certain cheese substitutes, graphic and writing paper products, steel structural components, aluminum profiles/bars/tubes, small-displacement motor vehicles (under 1,000cc) and golf carts, larger outboard motors, and a range of wood, plastic, and metal furniture, mattresses, and lamps.
  
  
• No longer covered: salt, Portland cement, certain sugars, tissue and toweling paper products, paper bed sheets, unwrought refined lead, low-voltage switchgear, and fishing rod parts

U.S. moves to ban certain Canadian products outright 

Separately, three presidential proclamations exclude specific Canadian products from entering the U.S. at all, starting September 29. It's a step up from a tariff to an outright prohibition:

• Dairy: the administration points to Canada's tariff-rate quota allocation for cheese, which it says favors other trading partners over the U.S.
• Alcoholic beverages: following steep declines in U.S. alcohol sales into Canada after provincial retailers restricted or delisted U.S. products
• Motor vehicles: tied to Canada's vehicle tariff and content-quota scheme

The White House frames all three as a response to Canada continuing to "discriminate" against U.S. commerce even after the August 22 tariffs took effect, and to Canada's own September 8 counter-tariffs.

What to check now

• Which of the three dates (September 8, 15, or 29) actually touches something you import or export.
  
  
• Whether anything in your pipeline falls into the newly added Section 338 categories (effective Sept 15), or drops off the list.
  
  
• Whether any Canadian dairy, alcohol, or motor vehicle shipment needs to clear the U.S. border before September 29. After that date, straightforward tariff treatment turns into an outright ban for the affected products.
  
  
• Who's responsible for new duties or a blocked shipment under your current contracts and Incoterms.
  
  
• Whether backup suppliers or routes are worth exploring where exposure is significant, since this situation is still moving.
  
  

Support available for affected businesses

Alongside its counter-tariffs, the Canadian government announced a $7.5 billion package of new and enhanced support for tariff-affected workers and businesses, including:

• Liquidity and financing support through the Business Development Bank of Canada.
• Regional support through Canada's regional development agencies.
• Worker-focused programs, including EI flexibilities and the new Worker Retention and Retraining Program.
  
  

Recommended actions

Talk to our US Compliance & Trade Advisory team about how these changes affect specific shipments, contracts, and sourcing decisions. What we can help with right now:

• HS code analysis and classification review
• Country-of-origin and free trade agreement eligibility reviews
• Customs compliance and audit-readiness support
• Canadian and U.S. customs brokerage support
• Landed-cost and tariff-impact reviews
• International freight quotations to compare alternative sourcing and routing

JORI advises on classification and compliance but does not issue binding customs rulings. The importer of record remains responsible for final classification and for any CBSA or CBP review.