EP432: Canada Tariffs Explained: What Sellers Should Check This Week

Canada Tariffs Explained

Canada tariffs explained. The list of products of Canada that carry the additional fifty percent Section 338 duty has changed. Some products come off the list, and some go on. The change covers goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after October thirtieth, 2026. The source is a White House proclamation dated October twenty-third, 2026, and its Annex I product list. This is not a blanket change, and it is not a packaging story you can skim. It comes down to the HTS code on each product you bring in. At the close, I'll give you The Voltage 3: three moves to check your codes before your next entry. We do not guess. We verify. That is today's Voltage 3 challenge, delivered at the close.

The Split in the List

But before we get to today's Voltage 3, let me explain what changed and why it matters. Annex I is split into two parts. Part A products no longer carry the additional fifty percent Section 338 duty. Part B products now do. That is the whole change in two sentences, but the details decide your landed cost. First, the duty stacks on top of Section 232 duties. Second, it applies regardless of USMCA origin. So a USMCA origin claim does not take a Part B product off the hook. Third, timing. The change covers goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after October thirtieth, 2026. That is the date you plan around. Now the trap. It is easy to hear "packaging comes off" and stop listening. That is only partly true. Some paper packaging lines come off. Corrugated cartons, boxes and cases are on the Part A list. So are paper sacks and bags not elsewhere specified, and molded pulp articles. But one paper packaging line goes on. Large paper sacks and bags with a base forty centimeters wide or more, HTS forty-eight nineteen point thirty, are on Part B. Some come off and one goes on. And here is the rule that matters most. The annex says the product descriptions are informational only. The HTS line decides. You cannot rely on what you call the product. You have to rely on the code it is classified under. This is not legal or customs advice. It is a process check, so you know which side of the line each product sits on.

The Code Check

Let me walk you through how you would check this in your own business. Say you bring in products of Canada, or packaging made in Canada. Start with packaging. Is it a corrugated carton? Corrugated cartons, boxes and cases are listed on Part A. Is it a large paper sack with a base forty centimeters wide or more? That line goes on. Same material, different line, different answer. Then move to the products themselves. Examples going on in Part B include shampoos, toilet soap, retail surface-active preparations, sweetened cocoa powder, paints, mastics, lubricants and carpets, and there are others. Examples coming off in Part A include some plastic sacks and bags, some refrigeration equipment, and some packing, filling, sealing and labeling machinery. Here is the process. Pull the current HTS code for every product and every packaging item you bring in from Canada. Match each code against Annex I Part A and Part B. Do not match on the description, because the HTS line decides. Then confirm the entry date for your next shipments, because the change covers goods entered on or after October thirtieth, 2026. Finally, take your list to your customs broker and confirm the classification with them before you make a decision. You are not trying to beat the rule. You are trying to know exactly where you stand.

The Voltage 3 Moves

Alright. Here is The Voltage 3. Number one: List every product and packaging item you bring in from Canada, with its current HTS code. Check: Every line on your list has a code on file. Number two: Match each code against Annex I Part A and Part B. Check: You can say which items lost the additional duty and which picked it up. Number three: Review the list with your customs broker. Check: Your broker has confirmed the classification, including any large paper sacks and bags. Complete all three before the next daily episode.

Stay High Voltage

This is about knowing which products come off the list and which go on, by HTS line, not by description. Pull your Canada codes this week and get them in front of your broker. We run more than twenty-five brands of our own. Come find us at voltagedm.com. Do something imperfectly and something perfect will happen along the way. Until tomorrow, stay high voltage.