China Surtax Canada 2026: Is Your HS Code Affected? (Steel & Aluminum 25%)

A Canadian importer brings in $50,000 of Chinese welded steel pipe (7306.30) and sees a 0% MFN rate. The border bill is not zero: 25% surtax under SOR/2024-202 ($12,500) + 5% GST on $62,500 ($3,125) = $15,625, before any SIMA duty. If the steel was melted and poured in China, the surtax is still 25%, not 50%: since August 1, 2025, a good pays one surtax.

Canadian retaliatory surtaxes on Chinese goods are layered, complex, and easy to underestimate. This guide is the current state in 2026: which orders are in force, which HS codes are covered, how the rates stack, and what to do if your code is on the list.

Active Chinese-origin surtax orders (2026)

These are separate legal instruments enforced by CBSA, but they no longer stack. Since August 1, 2025, a good that falls under several orders pays one surtax, chosen by the order of precedence in CBSA's customs notices (CN 25-24). Melt-and-pour Chinese steel covered by both SOR/2024-202 and SOR/2025-154 pays 25%, not 50%.

SOR/2024-202: China steel and aluminum 25%

Issued via Order in Council under section 53 of the Customs Tariff. Covers approximately 188 specific 10-digit tariff items in:

• Chapter 72 (iron and steel) — primary forms, semi-finished, flat-rolled, long products
• Chapter 73 (articles of iron or steel) — pipes, tubes, structural shapes, fasteners, fabricated articles
• Chapter 76 (aluminum and articles) — alloys, plates, sheets, foil, bars, rods, structural products

Notably excludes pig iron, ferroalloys (Chapter 72.01-72.02), most aluminum dust and powder, and articles past Chapter 7616.

The scope was revised in March 2025 to add downstream products (Chapter 7229-7326 fasteners and fabricated steel items) that had been initially excluded. If your tariff item is in this range and origin is China, surtax applies regardless of supplier intermediate (US distributor, Mexican manufacturer using Chinese steel, etc.).

Chinese electric vehicles: the 100% surtax is repealed

The China Surtax Order (SOR/2024-187) charged 100% on Chinese electric and certain hybrid vehicles in headings 8702 to 8704. Its schedule was repealed on March 1, 2026 (SOR/2026-33). Chinese EVs now pay the MFN duty of 6.1%, within an import quota managed with Global Affairs Canada import permits (SOR/2026-32). Batteries and solar panels from China carry no Canadian surtax; check them against the SIMA list instead.

SOR/2025-154: Melt-and-pour rules

Different mechanism. Targets steel that's "finished" outside China but contains Chinese-origin melt-and-pour material. The rationale: Chinese steel routed through a third country (Vietnam, Korea, Mexico) for minor processing was avoiding SOR/2024-202.

If the importer can document that the melt-and-pour origin is NOT China — typically via a steel mill certificate from the actual production facility — the order doesn't apply even if the country of finishing is also a CBSA-flagged country. Without that documentation, CBSA can apply the surtax on origin uncertainty.

Combined with SIMA and existing duties

These surtaxes do NOT replace anti-dumping or countervailing duties under SIMA. A single shipment of Chinese aluminum extrusions sees:

• MFN duty: 0% (Chapter 7604)
• SOR/2024-202 surtax: 25%
• SIMA AD: 101% on customs value
• SIMA CVD: 15.84 CNY/kg (specific rate in foreign currency)
• GST: 5% on the whole stack

For a 20-tonne shipment at $50,000 CAD invoice value:

• MFN: $0
• Surtax: $12,500
• SIMA AD: $50,500
• SIMA CVD: 20,000 kg × 15.84 CNY/kg = 316,800 CNY ≈ $61,800 CAD
• Subtotal duties: $124,800
• GST 5% on (VFD + all duties): $8,740
• Total at border: $133,540 on a $50,000 invoice — 267% effective rate.

This is what makes Chinese aluminum extrusion imports economically prohibitive without exporter-specific normal value documentation that lowers SIMA AD.

Order of application

CBSA applies duties in this order:

1. MFN (or applicable preferential rate from a trade agreement)
2. Surtax (one per good since August 1, 2025: SOR/2024-202, SOR/2025-154 or SOR/2025-267)
3. SIMA AD and CVD
4. Excise (if applicable)
5. GST/HST/QST/PST on the cumulative total

This stacking matters for landed cost modeling. See the landed cost guide for the full formula.

How to check if your HS code is affected

Each SOR has a schedule listing the affected 10-digit tariff items. The schedules are published in the Canada Gazette Part II and on laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

The faster check: enter your HS code in TariffCalc. The calculator flags applicable surtax orders and shows the stacked total in real time.

If you're sourcing via a US distributor and the goods have Chinese origin, see how Section 301 cascades into Canadian landed cost for the supply chain implications.

Common compliance mistakes

1. Assuming country of shipment = country of origin. A Chinese product shipped from a US warehouse retains Chinese origin under CUSMA Chapter 4 and is still subject to Canadian Chinese-origin surtaxes.

2. Missing the melt-and-pour rule. Steel finished in Vietnam from Chinese billets is still subject to SOR/2025-154 unless documented otherwise.

3. Confusing surtax with SIMA. Surtaxes are political (set by Order in Council). SIMA duties are quasi-judicial (set by CITT after dumping investigation). Both can apply to the same product.

4. Not modeling stacked landed cost. A "25% surtax" sounds manageable until you add MFN + SIMA + GST. Always model the full stack before committing to a purchase order.

Tools

• TariffCalc duty calculator — flags applicable Chinese-origin surtaxes by HS code
• HS Code Directory — Canadian classification
• SIMA anti-dumping guide — separate but stackable duties
• Section 301 cascade — when Chinese-origin goods come via US distributors
• Canada Gazette Part II — official source for new SORs

Bottom line

Canadian surtaxes on Chinese goods target steel and aluminum: 25% under SOR/2024-202, 25% on steel melted and poured in China wherever it was finished, and 25% on steel derivatives from every country. A good pays one of them, not several, and the 100% EV surtax ended on March 1, 2026. Combined with SIMA duties on some products, the effective rate on Chinese steel and aluminum can still exceed 100% of invoice value — so document the origin and the melt-and-pour country, and model the full landed cost before you commit. For the full picture, with examples beyond steel, see how much duty you pay from China to Canada.

For the Canadian retaliation against US tariffs, see US retaliatory surtaxes.