In short: CUSMA remains in force through 2036, now reviewed annually and still exempts qualifying goods from the 10% US baseline tariff, which moved from Section 122 to Section 301 on 24 July 2026. The biggest change in 2026 is a new 50% Section 338 tariff on certain Canadian goods (autos, alcohol, dairy and a wider annex), effective 19 August 2026, that CUSMA does not exempt. And from 1 January 2026 the importer not the broker must hold their own CARM account, financial security and duty liability. The practical rule for every load now: prove origin, and check the shipment against Section 232, Section 338 and CARM, not CUSMA alone.
Cross-border shipping between Canada and the United States got harder to plan in 2026, and not for the reason most shippers assume. The tariff headlines came and went. What actually changed is the paperwork, the liability, and who is on the hook when a load gets flagged.
The pressure shows up in the trade numbers. The United States took 71.7% of Canadian merchandise exports in 2025, down from 75.9% the year before and the lowest share since the early 1980s, according to Statistics Canada. Exporters are diversifying. But 71.7% is still most of everything Canada sells abroad, which means getting the border right matters more than any other single thing in a Canadian shipper’s logistics operation.
If you last reviewed your border process in 2024, roughly half of what you know is out of date. This guide covers what moved, what it costs you, and what to fix first.
Cross-border shipping between Canada and the United States is the movement of commercial freight across the border under two customs regimes at once. Every load needs a customs entry on both sides, evidence of what the goods are and where they were made, and a decision about which party pays the duty.
Key takeaway: The hard part of cross-border shipping in 2026 is no longer the tariff rate it is proving origin, tracking who is liable, and knowing which of several overlapping US measures applies to your specific load.
Here is the sequence, because the individual announcements make more sense as a chain than they do in isolation.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 29 August 2025 | The US suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for commercial shipments under US$800 |
| 1 September 2025 | Canada dropped most of its counter-tariffs on US goods, keeping steel, aluminum and autos |
| 1 January 2026 | Under CARM, brokers can no longer clear commercial goods on their own business number |
| 20 February 2026 | The US Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA does not authorise the president to impose tariffs |
| 24 February 2026 | A 10% global tariff took effect under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 |
| 6 April 2026 | Section 232 metal tariffs moved to the full value of a good, not just its metal content |
| 1 July 2026 | The US declined to renew CUSMA at the mandatory six-year review |
| 20 July 2026 | The US signed three Section 338 proclamations imposing 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods, effective 19 August |
| 24 July 2026 | Section 122 expired at its 150-day limit; a Section 301 forced-labour measure replaced it the same day |
| 19 August 2026 | The Section 338 50% tariffs take effect |
Two patterns run through that list. The first is that duty relief now depends on proving origin rather than on the goods simply being Canadian. The second is that responsibility has shifted toward the importer and away from the broker.
Key takeaway: Since late 2025, duty relief has shifted from “the goods are Canadian” to “the origin is proven,” and day-to-day responsibility has moved from the broker to the importer.
Yes, and the confusion around this is costing people money.
On 1 July 2026 the 3 governments met for the joint review that CUSMA itself requires on its sixth anniversary. Canada and Mexico both said they wanted to extend the agreement for another sixteen years. The United States declined. The US Trade Representative put it plainly in its statement that day: the agreement is not renewed.
That is not the same as the agreement ending, and the difference is the whole story. CUSMA has a sixteen-year term that runs to 1 July 2036. What did not happen on 1 July was the optional decision to extend beyond that date. Everything else continued without interruption preferential tariff treatment, rules of origin, dispute settlement.
What changed is the review schedule. Instead of one review every six years, the parties now meet annually until they either agree to extend or the agreement reaches its 2036 expiry.
For a shipper, the practical read is this. Nothing about your next load changed on 1 July. But the agreement your margins depend on is now re-examined every twelve months against the trade priorities in force that year. Planning around that means keeping your compliance current rather than treating it as a one-time project.
Key takeaway: CUSMA remains fully in force through 2036 the US only declined the optional early extension so preferential treatment continues, but the deal now faces an annual review instead of one every six years.
CUSMA compliance used to be a discount. It is now closer to an exemption.
From 24 February 2026, goods entering the US from Canada faced a 10% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which replaced the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down. Section 122 hit its 150-day limit and expired on 24 July 2026. A Section 301 forced-labour measure took its place the same day, at 10% on Canadian goods. The authority changed; the number did not. Goods that qualify under CUSMA are exempt from the 10%. Goods that do not, pay it.
That is the arithmetic. A load that would have crossed duty-free through habit now pays 10% unless someone can prove it originates in North America.
Qualifying is not about where the truck was loaded. It is about where the goods were made or how substantially they were transformed inside Canada, the US or Mexico. The specific rule varies by product and is tied to the tariff classification, which is why classification errors and origin errors tend to arrive together.
Some categories sit outside this 10% measure regardless of CUSMA status, including critical minerals, energy products, certain agricultural goods, certain pharmaceuticals and nearly all civil aircraft products. If you move any of these, check before you assume you owe the 10%. Global Affairs Canada maintains the current list of measures affecting Canadian exporters and updates it as things move.
Key takeaway: A 10% baseline tariff applies to Canadian goods entering the US now under Section 301 after Section 122 expired on 24 July 2026 and CUSMA-qualifying goods are exempt from it.
There is no government form. This trips people up more than any other part of the process.
CUSMA replaced the old NAFTA certificate with a certification of origin that has no prescribed format. In the United States the same agreement is called USMCA, and a USMCA certificate of origin and a CUSMA certificate of origin are the same document. What it needs is nine pieces of information, set out in Annex 5-A of the agreement and published by CBSA:
Those elements can sit on the commercial invoice, on a separate document, or in an electronic file with a digital signature. Any of the three parties can complete it.
Two details worth building into your process. A certification stays valid for four years from signature, and a blanket period can cover repeat shipments of identical goods for up to twelve months. Both save real administrative time if you ship the same product regularly.
The part people skip is the evidence behind the certification. Signing it means you can support it
production records, bills of lading, supplier declarations. Origin verification activity has increased on both sides of the border through 2026, and a certification that passed a check two years ago is not automatically safe now.
You can download blank certification templates from our forms page.
Key takeaway: There is no official CUSMA form any of the three parties can certify using nine required data elements, valid for four years but the certification only holds if the records behind it would survive a verification.
For years, commercial shipments into the US worth US$800 or less crossed duty-free. That ended on 29 August 2025, when US Customs and Border Protection suspended duty-free de minimis treatment under Executive Order 14324.
Those shipments now attract most-favoured-nation duties plus whatever US tariffs apply. Goods certified as CUSMA-compliant can still avoid them, which makes certification worthwhile even on shipments small enough that nobody used to bother.
The exception is the postal channel. Carriers moving goods into the US through the international post have to collect and remit duty at the point of import no matter what the CUSMA status is. In practice that means most Canada Post shipments to the US now need duty prepaid before the goods cross.
Canada’s own thresholds are separate and much lower: CAD $20 for duties and CAD $40 for taxes on goods coming north. They did not change, but they surprise US shippers who assume something similar to the old $800 figure applies in both directions.
Key takeaway: The US$800 duty-free threshold for commercial US imports ended in August 2025 small shipments now owe duty unless certified CUSMA-compliant, and postal shipments must prepay regardless.
Compliance does not exempt everything. Section 232 tariffs apply to specific product categories regardless of origin status, and they cover a lot of what moves on flatbeds.
| Category | Rate | CUSMA exemption |
|---|---|---|
| Steel, aluminum, copper and derivatives | 10% – 50% | No |
| Autos and trucks, and their parts | 25% | US content exempt; compliant parts not currently subject |
| Buses | 10% | No |
| Softwood timber and lumber | 10% | No |
| Upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, vanities | 25% | No |
| Certain semiconductors | 25% | No |
Two things to know about the metals line. From 6 April 2026 the rate applies to the full value of the good rather than only its metal content, which raised costs sharply for mixed-material products. Goods with less than 15% applicable metal content by weight are exempt, and goods made from at least 85% US metal get a reduced 10% rate.
The furniture rates are scheduled to rise on 1 January 2027, to 30% for upholstered furniture and 50% for cabinets and vanities. If you move either, that date belongs on your pricing calendar now.
Canada has kept its own counter-tariffs on US steel, aluminum and automobiles for the same reason: the US applies sector tariffs to those goods without a CUSMA carve-out.
If you move steel, structural components or construction materials, our heavy haul team handles these classifications regularly.
Key takeaway: Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum, autos, lumber, furniture and semiconductors apply regardless of CUSMA status, the metals rate now hits the full value of the good, and furniture rates rise again on 1 January 2027.
There is one more measure, and it is the one that breaks the pattern. On 20 July 2026 the US signed three proclamations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, imposing an additional 50% tariff on roughly US$20 billion of Canadian goods. They take effect at 12:01 a.m. on 19 August 2026.
The three proclamations are aimed at autos, alcohol and dairy. But the product lists reach well past those headlines the published examples run from wine to hockey sticks to cement, and the annexes pull in wood products, furniture, chemicals, minerals, food products and textiles. If you move Canadian freight into the US, the safe assumption is that your commodity might be on a list until you have checked it against the actual annexes.
Here is the part that matters most, and it is a first for the 2026 sequence. CUSMA does not exempt these goods. A valid certificate of origin buys you nothing here: the 50% applies whether or not the goods qualify under the agreement. Every earlier measure this year carved out compliant goods. This one does not.
A short exclusion list survives: energy, potash, fish, critical minerals, qualifying civil aircraft, and goods already carrying Section 232 duties. Everything else in the annexes pays.
If any of your loads could fall inside the three lists, check your HS classifications against them now — the 50% lands on 19 August, a little over two weeks out, and there is no grace period for goods that clear on or after that morning. If you are not sure, our customs brokerage team can run your classifications against the annexes before the date arrives.
Key takeaway: From 19 August 2026, a 50% Section 338 tariff hits certain Canadian goods and unlike every other 2026 measure, a CUSMA certificate of origin provides no relief, so check your HS codes against the annexes before the date.
The document list has not shrunk. What changed is who is responsible for each item.
Commercial invoice. Description, value, HS classification, terms of sale, and the parties involved. Most border delays trace back to a vague goods description or a classification that does not match what is on the truck.
Packing list. Piece count, weights, dimensions. Needs to reconcile against the invoice.
Certification of origin. Only if you are claiming CUSMA treatment, which you almost always should be.
Bill of lading. The contract of carriage and the receipt.
Advance electronic filing. ACI eManifest northbound to CBSA, ACE eManifest southbound to CBP. Both are filed before the truck reaches the border, and both are the carrier’s responsibility. This is our job, not yours.
CARM registration. Anyone importing commercial goods into Canada now needs their own CARM Client Portal account and their own financial security. Since 1 January 2026, a broker’s business number can no longer be used to release or account for commercial goods on an importer’s behalf, following CBSA Customs Notice 24-27. Narrow exemptions survive for trade show goods and auction houses, and CBSA is still consulting on whether to add more.
Permits. Food, pharmaceuticals, electronics, hazardous materials and controlled goods each carry their own agency requirements on top of customs.
One more change worth flagging. Since 1 January 2026 the importer of record is jointly and severally liable with the importer and owner for duties and taxes owing. If you assumed your broker absorbed that risk, check your agreement.
If customs work is the part you would rather hand off, that is what our customs brokerage service is for. For regular movements in both directions, see our cross-border freight shipping services.
Key takeaway: The paperwork list is unchanged, but from January 2026 the importer must hold their own CARM account and financial security and now shares liability for duties a broker’s business number no longer covers.
Tariffs cost money. These cost time, which often costs more.
Origin verification. CBSA and CBP have both increased origin checks through 2026. A load flagged for verification sits while the paperwork is examined.
Incomplete advance filings. An eManifest with a mismatched cargo control number or a missing PARS reference stops the truck at the primary inspection line.
CARM gaps. An importer who has not registered, or who has not posted their own security, will find shipments held or returned.
Driver English language proficiency. Since June 2025, failing a roadside English assessment is an out-of-service violation under the North American Standard criteria, and the April 2026 edition made it a permanent nationwide inspection standard. It applies to Canadian drivers running into the US. Worth clearing at hiring rather than discovering at a scale house.
One thing that does not apply: Canadian commercial drivers operating under cross-border agreements are generally outside the February 2026 non-domiciled CDL rule. There has been confusion about this and it has cost carriers unnecessary worry.
Key takeaway: Most hold-ups are avoidable clean origin evidence, accurate advance manifests, active CARM registration, and drivers who can pass a roadside English check are what keep freight moving.
Just Ship It Logistics has run freight across this border for 35 years, out of Barrie, Ontario. That covers the NAFTA years, the CUSMA transition, the 2025 tariff cycle, and whatever the annual reviews turn into.
What that means for a load: we file the advance manifests, we tell you which documents we need and when, we flag classification and origin problems before the truck is loaded rather than after it is stopped, and we work heavy haul, flatbed, dry van, reefer and LTL across the same border process.
Almost all of this freight moves by truck, for reasons we set out in our guide to the importance of road transport. That matters here because the border rules that changed in 2026 are, in practice, rules about trucks: who files the manifest, who signs the certification, and who is standing at the primary inspection line when a question gets asked.
We will also tell you when something is not worth shipping the way you planned it. That conversation is cheaper before the load moves.
Key takeaway: JSI files the advance manifests and flags classification, origin and liability problems before a load moves the point in the process where a fix costs the least.
The border did not close and CUSMA did not collapse. What happened is quieter and more expensive: duty relief now depends on proving origin, liability has moved toward the importer, and the agreement underneath all of it gets reviewed every year instead of every six.
Four things are worth doing this quarter, in this order.
Check your Section 338 exposure before 19 August 2026. If you move autos, alcohol, dairy, furniture, wood products or anything else that might sit in the three annexes, a 50% tariff lands on 19 August — now under three weeks away and CUSMA will not remove it. This is the nearest deadline on the list, so clear it first.
Check that your certifications are current and supportable. Not just that a certificate exists, but that the records behind it would survive a verification. This is the cheapest insurance available and it is the one most shippers have let slide.
Confirm your CARM registration and your own financial security. If you are importing into Canada and still assuming your broker’s business number covers you, that stopped working on 1 January 2026.
Look at your Section 232 exposure by product, not by shipment. Steel, lumber and furniture carry duties that CUSMA compliance does not remove, and the furniture rates rise again on 1 January 2027.
Cross-border shipping between Canada and the USA still works. It rewards preparation more than it used to, and it punishes assumptions faster.
If you are not certain your goods qualify under CUSMA, or you are not sure who is carrying the liability on your entries, talk to us before your next load moves.
Key takeaway: Four priorities this quarter, in order check Section 338 exposure before 19 August, make certifications verification-ready, confirm your own CARM security, and map Section 232 exposure by product.
It depends on whether your goods qualify under CUSMA. Compliant goods are exempt from the 10% measure that replaced Section 122 on 24 July 2026; non-compliant goods pay it. Separately, Section 232 duties and the new 50% Section 338 tariffs effective 19 August 2026 apply to named goods regardless of CUSMA status.
Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 imposed a 10% global import surcharge from 24 February 2026. It reached its 150-day statutory limit and expired on 24 July 2026. A Section 301 forced-labour measure replaced it the same day, holding a 10% rate on Canadian goods, with CUSMA-qualifying goods exempt.
The United States suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for commercial shipments valued at US$800 or less on 29 August 2025. Those shipments now attract most-favoured-nation duties and applicable US tariffs. Goods certified CUSMA-compliant may still avoid them, except through the postal channel where duty must be prepaid.
It is a signed statement certifying that goods meet CUSMA rules of origin and qualify for preferential treatment. There is no prescribed government form. It needs nine minimum data elements under Annex 5-A and may appear on the commercial invoice. The exporter, producer or importer may complete it.
Four years from the date of signature. A single certification can cover repeat shipments of identical goods through a blanket period of up to twelve months. Keep the supporting records, because CBSA and CBP have both increased origin verification activity through 2026.
No. Since 1 January 2026 under CARM, a broker's business number can no longer be used to release or account for commercial goods on an importer's behalf. Importers need their own CARM Client Portal account and their own financial security, or they risk late accounting penalties and returned shipments.
Section 232 tariffs apply regardless of CUSMA status to softwood lumber and timber at 10%, buses at 10%, upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets at 25%, and certain semiconductors at 25%. Steel, aluminium and copper face 10% to 50% on full value. Autos and trucks carry 25%, with US content exempt.
No. The three Section 338 proclamations signed on 20 July 2026 apply a 50% tariff to named Canadian goods regardless of CUSMA status; a certificate of origin gives no relief. They take effect 19 August 2026. Energy, potash, fish, critical minerals and goods already under Section 232 are excluded.
Yes. English language proficiency has been an out-of-service violation under North American Standard criteria since 25 June 2025, and the April 2026 edition lists it as a permanent nationwide inspection standard. It applies to Canadian drivers operating in the US. Assess it at onboarding, not roadside.
