Canada extends and widens tariff relief on some US imports while cutting back aluminum exemptions

Canada said it is extending tariff relief on some imports from the United States². Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne announced changes to the country’s tariff relief measures, which the government said are meant to better support workers and businesses³.

The changes expand exemptions on US goods while cutting some relief for aluminum¹. The programme was extended beyond US steel imports, according to one account⁶, and relief for businesses now runs until 2028, according to another⁴.

The remission programme was already so broad before these changes that most of the counter-tariffs Canada applies on US shipments have not actually produced revenue¹. The latest amendment takes a programme that had centred on US steel imports and applies it more widely^3,6.

Why it matters to investors

Because the remission programme is so broad, its scope, rather than the headline counter-tariffs, largely determines what Canada’s retaliation costs businesses that buy US goods^1,3. Wider exemptions lower that cost, while the cut to aluminum relief raises it for affected buyers¹.

The move comes as Ottawa looks for tariff relief of its own from Washington⁵. Canada is eyeing US tariff relief after President Donald Trump’s party lost the midterm elections⁵. Anand was in Paris for a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers that included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio⁵.

Rubio said at the G7 talks that Trump’s foreign policy will not change after the midterm losses⁷.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump have discussed a trade deal framework after months of tariff tensions⁴.

What to watch

The details of which US goods gain or lose relief will matter for importers, particularly in aluminum, where exemptions were cut¹. Government revenue is a related point: with most counter-tariffs already covered by remissions, the duties have raised little money for Ottawa, and the wider exemptions announced this week extend that pattern^1,2.

Investors will watch whether the extension, which reaches into 2028, is followed by progress on the trade framework Carney and Trump have discussed⁴.

The other question is whether the new US Congress changes the picture. Canada is betting that the midterm result opens a path to relief, while Rubio has said US foreign policy will not change^5,7.