Short version, as of the review date above: yes, the 25% surtaxes are in effect. Both the surtax on US-origin steel and aluminum and the broader surtax on steel-based goods from every country are still charged on import entries, the published programs that refund them are still open, and each refund claim expires two years after the import it belongs to.

Where things stand

The timeline

  • March 2025: Canada imposes a 25% surtax on US-origin steel and aluminum (SOR/2025-95).
  • 2025: the United States Surtax Remission Order (SOR/2025-122) opens a refund route for qualifying entries.
  • 1 September 2025: Canada removes a number of its US counter-surtaxes; the steel and aluminum surtaxes stay in place.
  • 26 December 2025: the surtax broadens to steel derivative goods from every country of origin (SOR/2025-267; CBSA Customs Notice 25-33).
  • Early 2026: the Steel Derivative Goods Surtax Remission Order (SOR/2026-34; Customs Notice 26-07) opens the refund route for those goods.
  • Early 2027: the first entries from March 2025 reach the two-year limit and become unclaimable. From then on, another month of refunds expires every month.

Is the surtax going away?

It might, in a trade deal or a future order. For now, both orders remain in force with no announced end date. But a deal that ends the surtax going forward does not refund what you already paid. Past overpayments stay refundable only within two years of each importation, and only if a claim is filed. So the end of the surtax would not close the opportunity; the two-year clock does.

How current is this page?

We review this page as the orders change, and the date at the top is the last review. The surtax regime is young and still moving, so keeping current is part of the work: our optional Surtax Watch re-audits your trailing year of entries against the orders in force, every year. Every date and figure here links to its official Government of Canada source, so you can confirm the current position yourself rather than take ours.