Canada has extended relief from its retaliatory tariffs on certain American imports by a year, to 30 June 2028, while widening the programme to cover more goods and withdrawing relief for products that Canadian firms can supply at home.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the changes on 9 November, saying they were designed to better support Canadian businesses and workers affected by US tariffs while encouraging the use of Canadian-made goods wherever possible.

The measures centre on Canada's "horizontal remission" programme, which spares eligible US goods imported for specified end uses from the counter-tariffs Ottawa imposed in response to American duties. The relief, which has been extended several times since it was introduced, will now run from 9 November 2026 until 30 June 2028.

What is covered now

Under the revised measures, the relief will also cover non-steel goods used in mining, quarrying or the extraction of oil and gas, and all goods used by public education entities, including those mandated by Indigenous organisations. The programme already covered US goods imported for public health, public safety and national security organisations, as well as non-steel goods used in manufacturing and processing, agriculture, and food and beverage packaging.

The Department of Finance said the changes followed feedback from businesses and other stakeholders, and were aimed at easing the burden on firms that rely on American inputs while the trade dispute with Washington continues.

Detailed product schedules will now be published on the Department of Finance's website and incorporated by reference into the remission orders themselves, a change the government says will speed up relief and improve transparency for importers checking whether their goods qualify.

Relief withdrawn for some home-made goods

At the same time, Ottawa is withdrawing automatic relief for selected products where domestic production is available, in a deliberate push to steer buyers towards Canadian suppliers. Relief will end on 1 December 2026 for certain trailers, and on 1 February 2027 for certain aluminium wire and extrusions and paperboard products.

Canada maintains 25 per cent counter-tariffs on US steel and aluminium, imposed in response to the 50 per cent duties levied by the Trump administration under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. The remission programme does not remove those counter-tariffs; it spares only specified goods imported for specified uses.

The extension is intended to give businesses greater predictability as they navigate continued uncertainty in Canada-US trade relations. Talks between the two countries over a trade deal have continued in recent days, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer saying the two sides have spoken "within the past few days" about a mutually beneficial agreement, although he declined to give a timeline.

Businesses welcome certainty

For Canadian importers, the extra year of relief matters. The programme was originally meant to last only six months when it was launched in April 2025, but it has been extended repeatedly as the tariff dispute has dragged on, leaving firms that depend on American inputs facing repeated cliff-edges.

The Finance Department said the changes build on a framework announced in March 2025, which limits remission to cases of short supply or other exceptional circumstances with significant negative effects on the Canadian economy. Businesses will need to check the newly published schedules to confirm whether their imports still qualify, particularly for the products losing relief in December and February. Read the Department of Finance announcement and Reuters' report on the extension.