August 14, 2020
On August 6, 2020, the United States announced the imposition of tariffs of 10 per cent on imports of certain aluminum products from Canada, which will take effect on August 16, 2020.
In response to these measures Canada intends to impose surtaxes against imports of aluminum and aluminum-containing products from the U.S., representing a proportionate amount of Canadian aluminum products affected by the U.S. tariffs.
The products subject to countermeasures will be drawn from a list which is now the subject of consultations with industry. The selected goods will be subject to a 10 per cent surtax.
The countermeasures will only apply to goods originating from the U.S., which shall be considered as those goods eligible to be marked as a good of the U.S. in accordance with the Determination of Country of Origin for the Purposes of Marking Goods (CUSMA Countries) Regulations.
These countermeasures will take effect by September 16, 2020 and will remain in place until the U.S. eliminates its tariffs against Canada. The countermeasures will not apply to U.S. goods that are in transit to Canada on the day on which these countermeasures come into force.
The Canadian Government is soliciting written comments from industry no later than September 6, 2020.