Since December 26, 2025, the Steel Derivative Goods Surtax Order (SOR/2025-267) applies a 25% surtax to steel-based products imported from every country of origin. CBSA administers it under Customs Notice 25-33. Here are the covered product groups, in the plain language of someone reading a packing list rather than a tariff schedule:

  • Screws, bolts, nuts and washers. Threaded and non-threaded fasteners of steel, the bread and butter of every hardware and assembly importer.
  • Nails and staples. Collated or loose, construction or industrial.
  • Wire rope, stranded wire and cable. Steel wire products used in rigging, construction, and manufacturing.
  • Chain-link and welded-mesh fencing, and gabions. Fencing rolls and panels, mesh, and the rock-filled wire baskets used in landscaping and civil works.
  • Chain. Of steel, across uses and grades.
  • Springs. Coil, leaf, and other steel springs.
  • Fabricated structural steel. Beams, columns, and assemblies fabricated for construction.
  • Pallet racking and shelving structures. Warehouse racking systems and steel shelving.
  • Builders' and door hardware. Hinges, handles, locksets, closers, and similar steel hardware.
  • Metal-frame seating and office furniture. Chairs, desks, filing cabinets, and other furniture built on steel frames.
  • Prefabricated steel buildings. Kit and modular steel structures.
  • Steel-core electrical cable (ACSR). Aluminum conductor, steel-reinforced cable used in power transmission.

The classification trap

Coverage is determined by the tariff classification declared on your customs entries, not by what your supplier calls the product or how your catalogue describes it. Two importers bringing in the same shelf can have different surtax outcomes if their entries were classified differently. This cuts both ways: some importers pay surtax on goods that were misclassified into coverage, and some assume they are exempt when their entries say otherwise. The only way to know is to read the entries, which is what an audit of your CARM data does.

If your products are on this list

You have been paying 25% on those lines since December 26, 2025 (and since March 2025 on US-origin steel and aluminum under SOR/2025-95). Some of it may be recoverable under the remission and drawback mechanisms described in our refund guide, but claims expire two years after each importation; the deadline arithmetic is here.

This list is a plain-language summary of the covered groups. The authoritative scope is the schedule to SOR/2025-267, linked above.

Common questions

My product is steel but not on the list. Do I pay the surtax?

Coverage is set by the schedule to SOR/2025-267 and determined by tariff classification on your entries. If your product groups are not covered, the derivative surtax does not apply, though US-origin steel and aluminum may still be caught by SOR/2025-95.