London and District
Construction Association
Construction Association
| Tariff Resources & Information |
What Changed Since September 4The September 4 report described the counter-tariffs as coming. They are now in force, and this update incorporates the Canada Border Services Agency's administration notice (Customs Notice 26-23), issued September 7.
Most important change
|
| Measure | What it reaches | Rate | In force | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. counter-tariff, steel and aluminum since March 13, 2025 |
Listed steel and aluminum tariff items of U.S. origin | 25% | Yes, now | Origin rule is the marking regulations. Goods in transit when it came into force were not caught. |
| U.S. Surtax Order (2026) the September 8 package |
629 listed U.S. tariff items drawn from those targeted by the American Section 338 and Section 232 measures | 15%, 25% or 50% | Yes — since 12:01 a.m. Sept 8, 2026 | Each rate matches the American rate on the equivalent Canadian good. Listed steel and aluminum rise from 25% to 50%. Goods in transit at coming into force are not caught. |
| Steel tariff rate quota surtax | Steel originating outside Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, above quota volumes | 50% | Yes, now | Relevant when substituting to a non-U.S. origin, not to American purchases. |
| Steel derivative goods surtax | Listed downstream steel goods | 25% | Yes, now | Does not apply where another designated surtax order already reaches the goods. |
| Wood cabinets and vanities provisional safeguard | Imported wood cabinets and vanities | 25% | Yes, now | Goods of United States origin are excluded from this measure. |
Where more than one steel surtax could reach the same shipment, only one applies, in a stated order of precedence (over-quota tariff rate quota surtax first, then the origin-specific surtax, then the steel derivative surtax). That rule is about surtaxes reaching each other. A surtax still sits on top of any ordinary customs duty owing, on top of any anti-dumping or countervailing duty, and it forms part of the base on which GST is then calculated.
The measures are written in tariff headings; your work is organized in MasterFormat divisions. The lookup tool below bridges the two — tap your trade to jump straight to the items that matter to you.
Gypsum board appears on the September 8 list at 50%, under tariff item 6809.11.00. Interior fit-out, institutional finishes and multi-unit residential pick up real exposure from September 8 while commentary concentrates on the heavy structural trades. Steel and aluminum are also at 50% on the listed items, up from 25%.
Illustrative — identifies which divisions and materials carry the exposure on each project type. It does not rank project types against each other.
| Project type | Divisions carrying exposure | Materials that drive it | What to read first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgework | 03, 05, 31 | Structural steel, heavy plate, reinforcing, piling | Steel items in the lookup below |
| Large infrastructure | 03, 05, 26, 33 | Structural steel, reinforcing, cable, pipe | Steel and copper items |
| Warehousing | 05, 07 | Structural steel, cladding, roof decking | Steel and coated sheet items |
| Interior fit-out | 08, 09, 26 | Gypsum board, steel studs, aluminum framing | Gypsum board (6809.11.00) and aluminum items |
| Schools | 05, 07, 09, 23 | Structure, roofing, gypsum, mechanical equipment | Steel, gypsum and equipment items |
| Multi-unit residential | 03, 06, 09, 22 | Reinforcing, wood framing, gypsum, plumbing | Gypsum, reinforcing and copper items |
| Hospitals | 09, 11, 22, 23, 26 | Mechanical and electrical equipment, finishes | Equipment items (Chapters 84 and 85) |
| Roadwork | 31, 32 | Asphalt, aggregate, minor steel in structures | Little on the list; check structures only |
Five responses are available. They differ in who can use them, how much they recover, and how hard they are — treat them as a sequence to work through rather than alternatives.
Recovers duty already paid or payable, directly. Available to importers of record and members whose suppliers import. Administrative, with eligibility conditions — most overlooked, and where it works it recovers cost directly. See Claiming Tariff Remission below for the full walkthrough.
Recovers future increases, prospectively, for members whose contracts are not yet signed. Must be in place before the increase arrives — once a contract is signed without one, options narrow sharply.
For members with cash and storage. Ordering early does not exempt goods on its own; only qualifying in-transit status does. Converts a tariff risk into a carrying cost and a forecasting risk.
Potentially the whole exposure on a substituted system. The most powerful response and the least available — needs the owner and designer on board, and closes once the spec is issued.
Recovers the difference to an available compliant alternative, where one exists in time. Whether you can switch depends far more on how the material is bought than on what it costs.
Origin. Goods bought from an American seller but originating elsewhere are outside the measures. Getting origin documentation before you assume exposure is the cheapest thing on this list.
Classification. Coverage is assigned at tariff-item level. An entry made without the classification being examined can be reviewed, and a correction changes the rate or removes it.
Relief where goods leave again. Canada's Duties Relief Program and Duty Drawback Program are both available for surtax paid or payable, subject to CUSMA. Where goods are of American or Mexican origin under that agreement, the lesser-of-two-duties limitation may not apply, so full relief may be available if criteria are met — the most overlooked route on this list.
Import for Re-Export. Goods imported under a permit issued for the Import for Re-Export Program are outside the surtax, provided every condition of the program is met, including further processing in Canada and export within the specified time.
In-transit treatment. Goods in transit when a measure comes into force are not caught. This turns on documentary evidence of carrier-controlled transit rather than on when the order was placed — see the in-transit exclusion above.
Advance rulings. Available on tariff classification, and national customs rulings on origin, both binding on the Agency and obtainable before importing. On a material recurring purchase this is the cheapest certainty available.
Where a remission order already covers particular goods or circumstances, relief follows the terms of the instrument. These are made and amended by instrument, so the position at the date of import governs rather than the position when a purchase was negotiated. Worth checking, and checkable in advance.
The discretionary route is assessed against an exceptional-circumstances standard, carries a substantial evidence burden including evidence on whether the goods can be sourced domestically, runs through a Governor in Council process, and takes time. Companies registered in Canada are eligible to make remission requests — a wider gate than the importer of record — but being able to ask Finance for remission is not the same as being able to make a customs claim at the border. Treat a discretionary request as a long shot worth making on a large exposure rather than a routine remedy.
They run on the importer of record. A member buying through a distributor may need the distributor's cooperation to benefit at all, because the claim belongs to whoever imported the goods rather than to whoever bore the cost — this is the obstacle the model contract clause below is built to solve.
They have deadlines. Recovery windows close, and they close on the import date rather than on your year end. Put the question to a broker now on anything already imported.
Whether you can switch depends far more on how the material is bought than on what it costs. LDCA commissioned research on two products at opposite ends of that range.
For common 15M uncoated bar to CSA G30.18 Grade 400W, substitution is straightforward: the item is manufactured domestically by more than one producer and routinely distributed through Ontario channels. The practical route away from American rebar is Canadian supply, not offshore supply — eight alternative origins were examined and every one came back weaker than domestic supply once trade remedies, quotas and delivery routes were factored in.
For 20 mm plate to CSA G40.21 350AT, the material exists (including through Canadian plate specialists and offshore mills), but what governs use is documentation and approval: notch-toughness category, mill test certificates, heat traceability, fabricator qualification, and owner acceptance. Handle it as a specialist purchase with early release, not an interchangeable commodity buy.
Working rules from these two products: if you buy on grade, price the switch — a conforming alternative may well be domestic. If you buy against approval documentation, start early with the owner and engineer. Don't assume offshore is the answer — Canada maintains quotas and trade remedies on steel from other countries too. And delivery can decide it: get lead times in writing from the supplier.
Remission, relief and refunds of customs duty and surtax are governed by legislation, orders made under it, and administrative process. Nothing here is legal, tax or customs advice, and nothing here predicts whether any request will succeed. Work with your customs broker and, where a contract or a large exposure is involved, with qualified counsel before submitting anything.
LDCA has issued a companion guide, Claiming Tariff Remission: A Guide for Members (Rev 2.0, September 11, 2026), covering both remission paths in full. Remission is the legal term — the government relieving you of duty or surtax you'd otherwise owe, or refunding it if you've already paid. You may hear it called a remittance or a rebate; neither is the term the legislation uses.
An order already covers your goods and your circumstances. You claim it through the customs accounting process — your broker does most of the work, and there's no application to anyone. Runs on the importer of record and on order-specific deadlines.
No order covers your goods. You ask the federal government to create relief, by written request to Finance rather than a numbered form or portal. Open to any company registered in Canada, decided at Finance's discretion, and the timing is uncertain.
United States Surtax Remission Order (2025). Remits surtaxes imposed under the 2025 surtax orders. It does not follow that it reaches the surtax imposed under the United States Surtax Order (2026) that took effect September 8 — check that the order actually reaches the charge you were billed before assuming relief exists. Claims must be made within two years of importation; the accounting codes and periods are order-specific, so confirm the current one with your broker rather than relying on a figure printed here.
Steel Derivative Goods Surtax Remission Order. Covers a schedule of tariff classification numbers, specified public health/safety/security and health care uses, and utility wind towers under tariff item 7308.20.00 in defined circumstances. It remits the separate steel derivative surtax, not the 2026 United States surtax — where both could apply to the same goods, only the 2026 surtax applies, and the two are not cumulative. Carries its own two-year claim period, and requires that no other relief has been granted for the same goods.
What to ask your broker: is there an order in force covering these goods at the date of import; do we meet every condition, including any about who the goods are sold to; was the special authority code applied, and if not, is a correction or adjustment still open; and who is the importer of record on this shipment.
Finance says it will consider inability to source the goods domestically, or reasonably from non-U.S. sources — the ground most likely to fit a construction input — and other exceptional circumstances with severe adverse impacts on the Canadian economy, assessed case by case. Both are subject to an "exceptional and compelling" test that Finance sets deliberately high.
Construction exposure often sits in steel derivative goods, and that framework is not the same as the general one: it recognizes four grounds rather than two, including two additional grounds tied to Indigenous ownership or participation in a wind energy project and to severe adverse impacts on remote communities. Its sourcing ground is also worded differently — in terms of domestic sourcing specifically, rather than domestic-or-non-U.S. Read the page for whichever framework actually matches your product before you write anything.
One request can raise more than one program, but it has to say so and carry the full required information for each framework. Filing twice is not the answer, and neither is assuming one checklist covers both.
Remission is discretionary, requires an Order in Council to take effect, and Finance publishes no processing time — LDCA holds no data on decision times either, and won't estimate one. Don't build a bid or a business plan around the expectation of remission.
The application template also shows who it was built for: two items ask for the cost of manufacturing one unit of the end product and its unit selling price, both written with a manufacturing operation in mind. A contractor installing material into a building usually has neither in the form the question expects — that doesn't disqualify a construction applicant, and the full guide explains how to answer those two items honestly rather than leave them blank.
Worth checking first, because it costs nothing: your supplier may already be named in an existing remission order, or be its intended beneficiary. Remission can be conditional on goods being imported for sale to a named downstream party, so you can benefit without being the claimant — ask your supplier before building a request of your own.
This is a summary of LDCA-GOV-TAR-001, Claiming Tariff Remission: A Guide for Members (Rev 2.0). It covers remission only; a companion guide covering duty relief, drawback, rulings and records follows separately. Nothing here is legal, tax or customs advice.
The model supplementary condition and member guide described here are draft documents, provided as a starting point for discussion with counsel — not settled forms.
Relief routes are administered on the importer of record, who is frequently a fabricator, distributor or supplier sitting below the contractor — often not the party that bore the cost. Without a contractual bridge, a recovery either never gets pursued or gets kept by whoever happens to receive it. OCAA and Link2Build have produced a model supplementary condition addressing exactly this: SC 10.1.3, Tariff Relief Administration, drafted for use with CCDC 2 or a similar contract.
It supplements the standard taxes-and-duties provision without altering the allocation of risk, notice requirements, valuation process, or contract-price adjustment process the standard form already establishes. Four operative paragraphs:
Tariff charges — tariffs, surtaxes, countermeasures, customs duties and similar governmental charges — are treated as taxes or duties for the limited purposes of the provision. Net Tariff Relief is what is actually received, retained or avoided, less the documented cost of pursuing it.
Commercially reasonable efforts to identify, prepare, submit and pursue available relief where anticipated net recovery exceeds a threshold the parties set. For each affected material package, the contractor identifies the importer of record, classification and country of origin, and provides supporting records on reasonable request.
Substantially equivalent obligations flow into affected subcontracts and supply agreements, and into their lower tiers. The owner may examine records relating to an affected charge, claim or recovery on not less than five working days' notice, subject to confidentiality.
Net relief is credited to the party that actually bore the charge, within a stated period (the model uses 15 working days). Nobody recovers the same charge twice. Obligations survive substantial performance, final payment and termination for as long as a timely claim can be pursued.
This improves the contractual process for pursuing and allocating relief. It does not create eligibility under any government remission, refund or drawback programme, and it is not legal advice — have construction counsel review it against your actual contract, procurement structure and supply chain before use.
A construction-connected screening extract from the Department of Finance list of United States products subject to counter-tariffs effective September 8, 2026 — 483 items, searchable and sorted by MasterFormat division. This is a finding aid, not a customs determination: use it to identify which measures are worth reading for your trade. Do not use it to classify a shipment or calculate duty owing — that's a job for a licensed customs broker working from the goods, the invoice and the origin documentation.
Four things are open, and each affects how members should read everything above.
The list is settled and reproduced above. What no report can settle is which tariff item a particular product you buy actually falls under — that's a licensed customs broker's determination, not a matter of matching a description by eye.
Currently professional judgment rather than data. This report publishes no project-level exposure percentages because two of the four inputs needed to calculate them aren't established with data.
This is an assumption, and the layer members can most directly improve. Until a member survey returns, every statement about origin share is judgment.
Canadian mills price with reference to imported material costs, so there's an expected mechanism by which domestic prices could follow a surtax upward — reaching members who import nothing. Neither the mechanism's operation nor its size is established here.
The weakest parts of this report are the ones only members can fix: what proportion of your material actually comes from the United States, what your suppliers are quoting, and how lead times are moving. If you're seeing something this report gets wrong, LDCA would rather hear it than publish it again.
Every substantive claim in this update was checked directly against the issuing instrument. The full LDCA-GOV-TAR-001 (Rev 3.0) report includes the complete analysis, the model contract clause and member guide in full, the complete 483-item lookup table, and a full source register.
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Not legal advice. This page is general information for members of the London & District Construction Association. It discusses tariff measures, customs instruments, trade remedy orders and construction contract provisions, all of which are legal instruments. Nothing in it is legal, tax or customs advice, and it does not interpret your contract, determine the tariff classification of any product, or calculate duty owing on any shipment. Everything here is stated as at September 8, 2026; the measures move, and the official Department of Finance list as it stands at the date of import governs rather than any summary, including this one. Before acting on a specific purchase, tender or contract, get advice from qualified construction counsel and, on customs questions, a licensed customs broker.
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| The LDCA CCDC Duties, Taxes and Tariff Information document provides insights on duties, taxes, and tariffs within various Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) contracts, including CCDC 2, CCDC 5B, CCDC 14, and CCDC 17. |
Read the document review |
| Understanding the impact of tariffs on Ottawa's construction industry. Dan Leduc, Partner Soloway Wright LLP |
Read the Article |
| The link below will provide you with access to a list of the proposed Canadian tariffs, issued in response to the U.S tariffs. This list was issued for tariff items to take effect on the February 4th, 2025 date |
View the list of goods with Division Codes |
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A five-part webinar series titled Read your construction contract, presented by CCA. |
View the READ YOUR CONTRACT webinars |
London and District Construction Association
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