Importers should not treat a third-country routing or a Chapter 98 or 99 tariff item as an automatic escape from the U.S. surtax. On October 23, 2026, the Canada Border Services Agency revised Customs Notice 26-23 to clarify how the surtax applies to certain goods originating in the United States. The underlying surtax applies from September 8, 2026; October 23 was the date of the guidance update.
What the October 23 clarification addressed
The revised guidance concerns goods originating in the United States, including goods routed through a third country before entering Canada. That routing is therefore relevant to the compliance review even when the shipment does not move directly from the United States into Canada.
The notice also addresses goods classified under Customs Tariff Chapters 98 and 99. Those goods are generally exempt from the U.S. surtax, but the exemption is not blanket. A Chapter 98 or 99 tariff item can remain subject to the surtax when the applicable item is specifically listed in Schedule 4 of the United States Surtax Order and the goods are also otherwise classifiable under a tariff item in Schedule 1, 2 or 3.
For an importer, the practical issue is the interaction between origin, routing, tariff classification and the applicable surtax schedule. Reviewing only the country from which the shipment departed, or assuming that a Chapter 98 or 99 provision ends the analysis, can leave the accounting treatment incomplete.
Why third-country routing belongs in the file review
Commercial shipments may move through an intermediary country before arriving in Canada. The revised notice expressly includes U.S.-origin goods routed through a third country, so the transport path should not be used as the sole basis for deciding whether the U.S. surtax review is relevant.
This matters for importers receiving freight into Ontario through GTA-area facilities. A shipment destined for a warehouse in Mississauga, Brampton or Toronto may have a movement history that includes an intermediate country, but the importer’s review still needs to address whether the goods originate in the United States and whether the tariff treatment falls within the applicable surtax schedules.
The clarification is Canada-wide rather than an Ontario- or GTA-specific rule. It applies to commercial and casual importers of qualifying U.S.-origin goods entering Canada through Ontario ports, airports and commercial facilities, as well as through facilities elsewhere in the country.
What importers should check before accounting
Importers using Chapter 98 or 99 provisions can use the October 23 update as a reason to review affected entries and classifications. The review should connect the shipment record to the tariff analysis rather than treating any single data point as conclusive.
- Confirm whether the goods are described as originating in the United States for the purposes of the surtax review.
- Record any third-country routing in the shipment and supporting documentation.
- Verify the Chapter 98 or 99 tariff item against Schedule 4 of the United States Surtax Order.
- Check whether the goods are also otherwise classifiable under a tariff item in Schedule 1, 2 or 3.
- Ensure the surtax treatment is reflected correctly in the Commercial Accounting Declaration.
The notice identifies the applicable surtax codes as 26186A for 15%, 26186B for 25% and 26186C for 50%. The relevant code depends on the treatment applicable to the goods; the presence of a Chapter 98 or 99 classification alone does not determine the result.
A targeted review is more useful than a blanket assumption
The October 23 change is a clarification, not a new Ontario border measure. Importers should therefore focus on shipments and tariff items that could fall within the stated conditions rather than treating every GTA-bound shipment as affected in the same way.
For customs and finance teams, a practical control is to identify U.S.-origin goods routed through another country and then isolate entries using Chapter 98 or 99 provisions. Those records can be compared with the relevant surtax schedules and the Commercial Accounting Declaration. Where the classification or origin record is unclear, the entry may warrant a more detailed review before relying on an exemption.
The central point from the revised guidance is narrow but operationally important: indirect routing does not remove a U.S.-origin shipment from the review, and Chapter 98 or 99 treatment should be tested against the listed schedule conditions. Importers can use that distinction to direct their verification work to the files most likely to require attention.
Source: CBSA Customs Notice 26-23.