Why Canada’s dollar-for-dollar countertariffs come with significant relief for importers
The Canadian government's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods are being significantly blunted by a remission system that allows domestic manufacturers to avoid paying duties on essential imports. Analysis shows that a large portion of targeted items, particularly steel and aluminum, are already covered by these relief orders to protect the competitiveness of integrated supply chains.
Why it matters
This highlights the complex reality of trade wars, where retaliatory measures often function as taxes on domestic industries, forcing governments to balance political posturing with economic stability.
Magna International Inc. holds eight remission approvals covering 17 tariff categories of steel, including screws and bolts, galvanized sheet, cold- and hot-rolled steel, all of which now carry an increased 50-per-cent duty. Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Companies are set to avoid a significant chunk of Ottawa’s tariffs on $28-billion worth of U.S. imports, despite the federal government describing it as a “dollar-for-dollar” counterpunch, according to trade experts and an analysis by The Globe and Mail.
Earlier this month, the federal government imposed or increased duties on 629 American products in response to the Trump administration’s latest round of tariffs on roughly $28-billion worth of Canadian goods.
In some cases, however, importers won’t end up paying these countertariffs, thanks to a “remission” system that Ottawa has been running for the past 18 months to blunt the impact of its own duties on domestic manufacturers that rely on imported parts.
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