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Section 338 tariffs on Canada

What Section 338 of the Tariff Act allows, the 50% duty on listed Canadian goods since 22 August 2026, the import bans since 29 September and how they stack.

Updated · 15 official sources

Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 lets the President add duties of up to 50% on a country's goods, or ban them, when that country discriminates against US commerce. Since 22 August 2026 it has been used against Canada: listed Canadian products pay an extra 50% in answer to Canadian treatment of US alcohol, dairy and vehicles, and since 29 September 2026 some Canadian goods can't be imported at all.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What does Section 338 allow?#

Section 338 allows the President, by proclamation, to impose additional duties on goods of a country that puts an unreasonable charge or restriction on US goods that it doesn't apply to others, or that discriminates in fact against US commerce. The duties may not exceed 50% ad valorem and start at least 30 days after the proclamation.

If the country keeps up or increases the discrimination after the duties are proclaimed, the President may go further and exclude its products from importation (19 U.S.C. 1338(b)). The President can also suspend, revoke or amend any Section 338 proclamation when the public interest requires. The statute also gives the US International Trade Commission a standing duty to track discrimination against US commerce, and in September 2026 the Commission asked for public comments on how to do that, due by 9 November 2026.

What Section 338 duties apply to Canadian goods?#

The Section 338 duties on Canada are a 50% additional ad valorem duty on Canadian products listed in U.S. note 51(b) to chapter 99, under three proclamations signed on 20 July 2026. Each answers one Canadian practice, but each list reaches well beyond that sector: the alcohol action's list includes cheese, leather, wood articles, paper, boats and hockey equipment.

Heading Action Canadian practice cited Rate
9903.03.12 Proclamation 11046 Provincial bans on buying and selling US alcoholic beverages 50%
9903.03.13 Proclamation 11047 Tariff-rate quota allocation on US cheese 50%
9903.03.14 Proclamation 11048 Canada's motor vehicle tariff scheme 50%
9903.03.15 Exception Section 232 goods, now for the dairy list only No Section 338 duty
9903.03.16 Exception Civil aircraft, engines and parts No Section 338 duty

The duties were set to start on 19 August 2026. Proclamation 11056 pushed them back three days while Canada negotiated, and they took effect for goods entered from 22 August 2026. From 15 September 2026, Proclamations 11064 and 11065 changed the alcohol and motor vehicle lists, adding 122 codes and removing ten, and made those two actions apply on top of Section 232 duties; only goods on the dairy list can still claim the Section 232 exception. Proclamation 11076 changed the motor vehicle list again for goods entered from 30 October 2026, after HTSUS Revision 21 was printed, so check CBP's list in CSMS #70314289 rather than the printed note.

Which Canadian goods are banned?#

The Section 338 import bans exclude certain Canadian products from the United States altogether, under Proclamations 11061, 11062 and 11063, signed on 8 September 2026 after the President found that Canada had maintained or increased the discrimination. They apply to goods imported from 29 September 2026, and CBP rejects any entry that contains them.

The banned goods sit under HTSUS headings 0404, 1702, 1703, 2202 to 2208 and 8711, as listed in the annexes CBP published with CSMS #70050970. Alcoholic beverages are banned only where they meet the annex's scope limitation; for "packaged" goods, that means bottles, cans, boxes, kegs or similar containers sold to consumers. Banned goods can't be admitted to a foreign trade zone or bonded warehouse or moved in bond. Goods that arrived before 29 September 2026 can still be entered, at the 50% duty. The alcohol and tobacco guide covers the other rules for importing drinks.

How do the Section 338 duties stack?#

The Section 338 duties on Canada are charged on top of the regular duty, and a USMCA preference doesn't remove them: goods eligible for special tariff treatment still pay the 50%, and entries under the USMCA provisions of chapter 98, subchapter XXIII, stay subject (U.S. note 51(a)). Antidumping and countervailing duties continue to apply as well.

Goods entered under other chapter 98 provisions aren't subject, except repairs, processing and assembly abroad under 9802, which pay on the value added abroad. Products for personal use in a traveler's accompanied baggage are excluded. A Canadian good entered free under USMCA doesn't pay the Section 301 forced labor duty, so it pays the 50% without it. Canada's own duties on US goods are covered in the Canada counter-tariffs guide.

Take 20 ice hockey sticks made in Canada, HTSUS 9506.99.25, worth $2,000 and entered under USMCA. The regular duty is Free, the forced labor duty is lifted by the USMCA free entry (heading 9903.05.93), and heading 9903.03.12 adds 50%, so the shipment pays $1,000 in duty. The landed cost calculator applies the Section 338 heading by code, and border.bot's Section 338 tariffs page lists every code in force.

Common questions#

Do Section 338 duties apply to goods for personal use?#

Not to products for personal use carried in a traveler's accompanied baggage (U.S. note 51(a)). Goods bought online and shipped from Canada are entered like any other import and pay the duty if their code is listed.

Does USMCA protect Canadian goods from the Section 338 duty?#

No. The 50% duty applies even to goods eligible for USMCA treatment; USMCA only removes the regular duty and the Section 301 forced labor duty.

Is Canadian whisky banned in the US?#

Packaged Canadian spirits that fall within the annex to Proclamation 11061 are banned from 29 September 2026; other alcoholic beverages on the lists pay the 50% duty instead. Check the code and the scope limitation in CBP's annex.

Sources#