United States removes the 50% extra duty on 22 Canadian products and adds it to 100 others from Oct. 30, 2026.
The US President on Oct. 23, 2026, removed a 50% extra duty from 22 Canadian products, including thin plywood and packing machinery, from Oct. 30.
The same proclamation also adds the 50% duty to 100 other Canadian product lines, from carpets and cocoa powder to canoes and chest freezers1. The change applies to goods cleared through US customs from 12:01 a.m. eastern time on Oct. 30, 20261.
In short, a Canadian shipment of thin hardwood plywood, plastic crates or food-packing machines will no longer pay the 50% extra duty from Oct. 30. A shipment of Canadian carpets, wooden packing boxes or shampoo will start paying it on the same day.
What changes for Canadian plywood and machinery on Oct. 30?
The proclamation of Oct. 23, 2026, changes the list of Canadian goods that pay an extra 50% ad valorem duty, a tax charged as a share of the goods’ value1. The duty was first set by Proclamation 11048 of July 20, 2026, in a dispute over Canada’s tariffs on US cars2.
The new proclamation has two lists in its first annex. Part A lists products that will "no longer be subject" to the 50% duty1. Part B lists products that will become subject to it1.
Part A covers 22 tariff lines, the eight-digit codes that customs uses to classify goods3. Part B covers 100 tariff lines, most of them carpets and other floor coverings3. Both lists take effect at the same moment.
Which Canadian goods lose the 50% duty?
The 22 products in Part A are mostly packaging, packing materials and the machines that fill and wrap packages3. The annex lists them by their codes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the US customs tariff book3.
The goods freed from the 50% duty are:
- Thin hardwood plywood, sheets not over 6 mm thick with a face layer of birch, walnut, Spanish cedar or other non-coniferous wood (seven codes under 4412.33 and 4412.34)3.
- Plastic packing goods: polypropylene film and sheets, plastic boxes, cases and crates for carrying goods, and polyethylene sacks and bags3.
- Paper packaging: corrugated cartons and boxes, paper sacks and bags, plastic-coated paperboard, and molded paper-pulp articles3.
- Refrigerating and freezing equipment not listed elsewhere in the tariff, and industrial machines that treat materials by heating or cooling3.
- Packing machinery: machines for filling, sealing and labeling bottles, cans and boxes, and packing or wrapping machines3.
- Farm sorting machines that clean, sort or grade eggs, fruit or other produce (8433.60.00)3.
- Edible seaweed and other algae, fresh, frozen or dried (1212.21.00)3.
Many of these goods are inputs for US food and packaging businesses. Removing the duty lowers the landed cost of these Canadian inputs for US buyers from Oct. 30.
Which Canadian goods start paying the 50% duty?
Part B adds 100 tariff lines to the duty list3. Each of them will pay the 50% duty unless it is civil aircraft or an aircraft part that meets General Note 6 of the HTSUS3.
The 100 lines gaining the 50% duty
The new goods fall into several groups:
- Carpets and rugs: 43 lines covering knotted, woven, tufted and felt floor coverings, artificial turf and carpet tiles (headings 5701 to 5705)3.
- Sweetened cocoa powder: 13 lines, split by sugar content and by quota notes in the tariff (1806.10)3.
- Wood products: thin MDF (medium-density fiberboard), dense fiberboard, wooden packing boxes and cases, thin wood flooring panels, bamboo joinery, wooden coffins and wooden sticks such as ice cream sticks3.
- Paper: printing paper, kraft paper, self-adhesive paper, plastic-coated paper, large paper sacks and blank self-adhesive labels3.
- Household and chemical goods: paints and varnishes, putty and caulk, shampoo, soap, cleaning preparations, lubricants and waxes3.
- Other goods: vinyl flooring, rubber floor mats, PET plastic, window air conditioners, chest freezers up to 800 liters, electric hand tools, hand-operated steel valves, canoes up to 7.5 m, electro-surgical instruments, spectrometers and archery equipment3.
Some packaging goods move in opposite directions. Plastic crates and corrugated cartons leave the list, but wooden packing boxes (4415.10.30) and large paper sacks (4819.30.00) join it3.
Why did the President change the Canada list?
The proclamation says senior officials gave the President new information on how well the duties offset the harm to US trade1. They advised that a different product list "would still offset the burden" on US commerce and better serve the public interest1.
The President accepted this advice and decided that the public interest requires the change1. The proclamation does not explain why each product was added or removed.
This is the second change to the product list. A proclamation of Sept. 8, 2026, also moved goods on and off the list, from Sept. 15, 20264.
What started the dispute over Canadian cars?
The duties rest on section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a US law against foreign trade discrimination2. It lets the President add duties of up to 50% on goods from a country that treats US goods worse than others2.
In Proclamation 11048, the President found that Canada discriminates against US cars2. Since April 9, 2025, Canada has charged a 25% tariff on US motor vehicles that do not qualify for duty-free treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)2. Canada does not apply this scheme to cars from other countries2.
The proclamation gave figures for the harm. US motor vehicle exports to Canada fell about 22%, from about $25.9 billion to about $20.3 billion, between April 2025-March 2026 and the year before2. Over a similar period, Canada’s car imports from other countries rose by about $2.85 billion, with Mexico accounting for almost $2 billion2.
How did the Canada duties develop since July?
The 50% duty was due to start on Aug. 19, 20262. On Aug. 18, Proclamation 11056 delayed it for 3 days after Canada promised to remove the discrimination1.
Canada duty dates in 2026
The October proclamation says Canada "reneged on its commitment" on Aug. 21, 20261. The duties therefore took effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on Aug. 22, 20261.
On Sept. 8, 2026, the President took two steps. One proclamation changed the product list from Sept. 154. Another banned the import of certain Canadian products from Sept. 29, 2026, because Canada kept its car tariffs in place5. Goods under that ban moved from the 50% duty to a full import ban5.
How does the duty interact with other US tariffs?
The October proclamation says the 50% duty applies in addition to duties under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 19621. Section 232 duties are US tariffs set on national security grounds.
The 50% duty and section 232 duties
| Question | July proclamation | October proclamation |
|---|---|---|
| Duty on listed goods | 50% of value | 50% of value |
| Goods under section 232 | 50% duty does not apply | Both duties apply |
| Start time | Aug. 19, 2026 | Oct. 30, 2026 |
This differs from the July proclamation. That text said the 50% duty would not apply to goods subject to section 232 duties2. The September list change already said both duties apply together4.
For goods in Part A, the proclamation removes only the 50% section 338 duty1. It does not say that normal customs duties or section 232 duties are removed. A Canadian product that pays those duties today will keep paying them.
How will customs apply the Oct. 30 change?
The change applies to goods "entered for consumption", meaning cleared for sale in the US1. It also applies to goods withdrawn from a bonded warehouse for sale on or after the start time1.
The date of clearance, not the date of shipping, therefore decides the rate. A shipment of Canadian carpet cleared on Oct. 29 pays no 50% duty. The same shipment cleared on Oct. 30 pays it.
The second annex of the proclamation amends the US tariff book1. It removes the Part A codes and adds the Part B codes in chapter 99, where the extra duties sit1.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the US border agency, may issue rules and guidance to apply the change1. CBP may also correct technical errors in the annexes through a notice in the Federal Register, the US government’s daily journal1.
Who must act on the new Canada list?
US importers of Canadian goods pay the duty, so they face the change directly. Importers of the 22 freed products will pay less from Oct. 30.
Importers of the 100 added products will pay 50% more on the customs value of each shipment. Customs brokers must apply the new chapter 99 codes on entries from that date1.
The annex says its product descriptions are for information only3. The tariff code decides whether a product is covered. Questions on scope go to CBP3.
Canadian makers of carpets, cocoa powder, wood flooring and paper face a higher price in the US market. Canadian makers of thin plywood, packaging and packing machines regain access without the extra duty.
Key points on the Canada duty list change
The table below sums up the Oct. 23 proclamation.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who issued it? | The US President |
| When was it signed? | Oct. 23, 2026 |
| What law does it use? | Section 338, Tariff Act of 1930 |
| What is the duty rate? | 50% of the goods’ value |
| How many lines lose the duty? | 22 tariff lines |
| Which goods lose it? | Thin plywood, packaging, packing machines |
| How many lines gain the duty? | 100 tariff lines |
| Which goods gain it? | Carpets, cocoa powder, wood and paper goods |
| Who is exempt from the new duty? | Qualifying civil aircraft and parts |
| Does section 232 still apply? | Yes, both duties apply |
| When does it start? | 12:01 a.m. eastern time, Oct. 30, 2026 |
| Who applies it? | U.S. Customs and Border Protection |
From Oct. 30, 2026, Canadian thin plywood and packing machines clear US customs without the 50% duty. Canadian carpets, cocoa powder and wooden packing boxes cleared from that day pay it1.
Sources
- ↩ FURTHER MODIFYING THE SCOPE OF PRODUCTS OF CANADA SUBJECT TO THE ADDITIONAL DUTIES IMPOSED TO OFFSET CANADIAN DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES WITH RESPECT TO MOTOR VEHICLES – The White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/10/further-modifying-the-scope-of-products-of-canada-subject-to-the-additional-duties-imposed-to-offset-canadian-discrimination-against-the-commerce-of-the-united-states-with-respect-to-motor-vehicles/
- ↩ Federal Register :: Imposing Additional Duties To Offset Canadian Discrimination Against the Commerce of the United States With Respect to Motor Vehicles https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/23/2026-14997/imposing-additional-duties-to-offset-canadian-discrimination-against-the-commerce-of-the-united
- ↩ 2026ModifyingAuto338.prc_.AnnexI-3.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026ModifyingAuto338.prc_.AnnexI-3.pdf
- ↩ Modifying the Scope of Products of Canada Subject to the Additional Duties Imposed to Offset Canadian Discrimination Against the United States with Respect to Motor Vehicles – The White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/09/modifying-the-scope-of-products-of-canada-subject-to-the-additional-duties-imposed-to-offset-canadian-discrimination-against-the-united-states-with-respect-to-motor-vehicles/
- ↩ Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 176 (Monday, September 14, 2026) https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-09-14/html/2026-18837.htm