Canada: Export Controls & Trade & Investment Sanctions

The Canada Border Services Agency has clarified that bonded warehouses cannot be used to defer tariff rate quota obligations or facilitate after-the-fact import permits for steel imports. Steel importers must obtain shipment-specific permits upfront and stay within daily-published quotas to avoid substantial 50% surtaxes, regardless of whether goods are placed in customs bonded warehouses.

As CUSMA shifts to annual reviews and new tariff measures reshape North American trade, foreign companies entering Canada face a fundamentally different customs compliance landscape than existed two years ago.

Global Affairs Canada has issued comprehensive guidance on Canada's "deemed ownership" rules under sanctions law, clarifying when companies not directly designated may still be subject to sanctions restrictions due to ownership or control by designated persons. The guidance addresses three distinct control tests—including ownership thresholds, board control, and de facto influence—and provides practical examples of how these provisions apply to complex corporate structures and proxy arrangements

La Cour supérieure de justice de l'Ontario a rendu une décision historique concernant le régime de sanctions canadien visant la Russie, établissant des précédents importants sur l'interprétation du test du "contrôle réputé". Cette affaire examine comment les entreprises canadiennes doivent évaluer leurs relations commerciales avec des entités potentiellement liées à des personnes ou organisations sanctionnées. Les implications de cet

Canada has initiated anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into truck and bus tires from China, with preliminary determinations expected by November 30, 2026. Producers, exporters, and importers—including companies from Korea, Japan, and Singapore with Chinese operations—face critical September and October deadlines to submit comprehensive responses or risk significantly higher duty rates.

Canada has ratified the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), opening new trade opportunities between the two nations. Beginning September 1, 2026, qualifying goods traded between Canada and the UK may benefit from preferential tariff rates under the agreement, with full reductions phased in by January 1, 2028.

The US Department of Commerce’s recent imposition in mid-June of an export licensing requirement (since lifted at end of June for select US entities) on exports, reexports, and in-country transfers of Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5 Model and Claude Fable 5 Model to all destinations worldwide and to “all foreign persons” is a stark reminder of how export controls may go beyond the control of physical goods and also apply to intangible goods such as software, AI models, or technology transfers in the cloud. More recent news about AI models going rogue and a proposed bipartisan “AI Kill Switch” bill introduced by two US congressmen foreshadow additional controls in the near future.

Canada has imposed a provisional 25% safeguard surtax on imported wood cabinets and vanities, effective until February 2027, while the Canadian International Trade Tribunal investigates whether surging low-priced imports are injuring domestic manufacturers. The measure includes specific exceptions for goods from certain countries and product categories, but importers face significant financial exposure and should immediately review their supply chains and classification strategies to determine eligibility

Canada's border services agency has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into paperboard cups and containers imported from China, following allegations of dumping and subsidization.