Canada’s Minister of Finance, François-Philippe Champagne, announced three new measures for Canadian businesses and entities affected by the tariff dispute between Canada and the United States.
These measures include the remission of some of the countermeasure tariffs announced by Canada in response to unjustified tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canadian products.
The first measure is a performance-based remission framework for automakers, designed to incentivize continued production and investment in Canada. In recognition of the integrated nature of the North American automotive sector, this will allow automakers that continue to manufacture vehicles in Canada to import a certain number of U.S.-assembled, CUSMA-compliant vehicles into Canada, free of the countermeasure tariffs that Canada has imposed.
The remission granted to these companies is contingent on these automakers continuing to produce vehicles in Canada and on completing planned investments. The number of tariff-free vehicles a company is permitted to import will be reduced if there are reductions in Canadian production or investment. For details see the CBSA’s Customs Notice 25-17 United States Surtax Remission Order (Motor Vehicles 2025).
As a second measure, the government intends to provide temporary 6-month relief for goods imported from the U.S. that are used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and for those used to support public health, health care, public safety, and national security objectives.
This will provide immediate relief to a broad cross-section of Canadian businesses that must rely on U.S. inputs to support their competitiveness as well as to entities integral to Canadians’ health and safety, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities and fire departments. The remission will be provided on a time-limited basis to provide businesses and entities with additional time to adjust their supply chains and prioritize domestic sources of supply if available. Full details will be published soon.
The third measure, the new Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility (LETL), which was announced by the Prime Minister in March, is now accepting applicants.
This program will support eligible large businesses – including those that contribute to Canada’s food security, energy security, economic security and national security-that are facing difficulties in accessing traditional sources of market financing, by providing access to liquidity. This will help employers that were viable before the recent U.S. trade actions to help sustain their operations and return to financial stability. Companies will be required to make efforts to maintain jobs and sustain business activities in Canada. Those that were already involved in insolvency proceedings before this crisis will not be eligible.
