The Government of Canada is providing updated guidance on the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025), a temporary duty-relief measure that entered into force on April 16, 2025. This measure provides time-limited, immediate relief for imports from March 4, 2025, until Oct. 15, 2025, to a broad cross-section of Canadian businesses for goods imported from the U.S. that are used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and for those used to support public health, health care, public safety and national security objectives.

On May 20, 2025, the Canada Border Services Agency updated Customs Notice 25-19 to provide additional guidance on the scope of the temporary relief.

Key clarifications for agri-food businesses include:

• Eligible claimants: Who the eligible claimant is for the remission process
• Ineligible businesses: The type of business activities that would not be eligible (goods used in primary material production including harvesting of agriculture goods)
• Food and Beverage Packaging: Specifications for eligibility/non-eligibility of packaging for food products and beverages

We strongly encourage businesses to consult the updated Customs Notice 25-19: United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) to understand the implications for their operations. For agriculture and agri-food businesses for which this temporary remission relief does not apply, Canadian businesses can still request remission through the general process outlined here: Process for requesting remission of tariffs that apply on certain goods from the U.S. – Canada.ca.

Information, tools and support to help your business navigate the tariffs imposed on Canada by the U.S. Guidance on how to export duty-free to the U.S. under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Get help with CUSMA compliance: Call our support line at 1-833-760-1167.