Importing from China. Duty, surtaxes and the papers CBSA asks for.

In one sentence. Goods made in China usually enter Canada under the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff, because the Customs Tariff gives China that treatment and no free trade or preferential one. Some Chinese goods also carry a Canadian surtax or anti-dumping duty, so what you pay depends on the exact tariff item, and GST of 5% is then charged on the value plus all of those duties.

Price one product from China, free: the tariff item, the rate for where it was made, and what GST adds.

China gets the MFN rate, and no lower one

MFN is the rate CBSA ties to members of the World Trade Organization. In the Customs Tariff's 2026-2 list of countries, China's row reads "yes" for MFN, "no" for the General Preferential Tariff (GPT), "no" for the Least Developed Country Tariff, and shows no other treatment. Three common goods, as CBSA's 2026 tariff and our copy of it state them:

The rucksack line also prints a GPT rate of 7%, which a Chinese rucksack does not get. A Chinese supplier's HS code is only a start. CBSA: "The first six digits of the tariff classification number are a common identifier for a particular good across all countries using the Harmonized System. The next four digits are unique to Canada to establish the duty rates and gather statistics."

Steel and aluminum from China carry a 25% surtax

Since 22 October 2024, the China Surtax Order (2024) has put a surtax on Chinese steel and aluminum. Section 3.1(1), as in force today:

"Subject to subsection (2), the following goods that originate in China are subject to a surtax in the amount of 25% of their value for duty determined in accordance with sections 47 to 55 of the Customs Act:"

The goods are the 182 tariff items in its Schedule 2: 130 in Chapter 72 (iron and steel), 33 in headings 73.01 to 73.06 (sheet piling, railway track material, tubes and pipes) and 19 in Chapter 76 (aluminum). A finished article such as a stainless steel sink, heading 73.24, is not on it, though it meets another measure below. A China Surtax Remission Order (2024) gives the surtax back on some listed goods, on conditions that include a claim within two years of import.

The same Order charged 100% on Chinese electric vehicles from 1 October 2024. CBSA's Customs Notice 24-32, paragraph 7:

"Effective March 1, 2026, the Order Amending the China Surtax Order (2024) repeals Section 3 and Schedule 1 of China Surtax Order (2024) which subjected imports of electric vehicles that originate in China to a surtax. These imports are no longer subject to a surtax."

Since that date, an electric vehicle that originates in China needs a shipment-specific import permit from Global Affairs Canada (personal imports under Chapter 98 aside), issued "until the quota limit established by GAC is reached." The MFN rate on tariff item 8703.80.00, cars with only an electric motor, is 6.1%.

Other surtaxes reach Chinese steel, aluminum and wood cabinets

Four more orders can apply to goods made in China, or to goods that contain Chinese metal. Each has its own list of tariff items:

The steel orders do not add up on one good. Customs Notice 25-33: "Canada maintains a non-stackable policy for its surtaxes on steel. Only one of these measures can apply to a particular good". For goods imported from 22 September 2025, CBSA says "commercial invoices and reports will no longer be acceptable" to show where the steel was melted and poured, so ask the factory for the mill's certificate before the goods ship.

Dozens of Chinese products owe anti-dumping or countervailing duty

CBSA's guide: under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), "some goods have additional duties applied, such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties, to offset the harmful effects of unfair trade practices." CBSA's measures in force list, last modified 17 September 2026, names China on dozens of entries, many of them steel and aluminum. Three a business might order from a factory: mattresses, upholstered domestic seating and stainless steel sinks, each under both a dumping and a subsidy measure against China. The product description in the finding decides what is caught, and CBSA's note on the list says:

"If there is any discrepancy between the SIMA finding or order and the information in this Measures in force list, the finding or order takes precedence."

Chinese goods stay Chinese when they ship from another country

For the China Surtax Order, origin is set by section 3 of the marking regulations for countries outside CUSMA: "The country of origin of goods is the country in which the goods were substantially manufactured." CBSA's Customs Notice 24-36 adds that the surtax applies "even when shipped to Canada from a country other than China." CBSA's invoice memorandum warns that "certain operations such as packaging, splitting, and sorting may not be considered as sufficient operations to confer origin." And the melt-and-pour order reaches goods made in a third country from Chinese steel.

The rule works the other way for the US surtax. Canada's 2026 surtax applies only to goods that originate in the United States, so a product made in China does not owe it because it came from a US seller or warehouse. See surtax charged on goods not made in the US.

GST is 5% of the value plus every duty and surtax

CBSA: "GST is calculated on the total value of the goods and applicable duties." The value for duty is usually the price paid to the seller, converted at the exchange rate of the date the goods began their direct journey to Canada, and CBSA says transportation and insurance costs "arising after the place from which goods begin their direct and uninterrupted journey to Canada would not be included in the transaction value of the goods." CBSA's own example in Customs Notice 26-17:

The supplier's invoice has to carry what CBSA asks for

CBSA's Memorandum D1-4-1 asks, for a commercial shipment, for a commercial invoice with all the information in its Appendix A, a shorter commercial invoice with a Canada Customs Invoice (Form CI1) for the rest, or a fully completed CI1. Appendix A includes the vendor, the date of direct shipment, the purchaser, the country of origin, the conditions of sale and terms of payment, the currency, and a description and quantity of each item. "The commercial invoice is the main document the CBSA relies on to provide this evidence," and for MFN goods it can serve as the proof of origin.

The carrier's document travels with the goods: a bill of lading by sea, an air waybill by air. CBSA names both as the carrier's contract of carriage. The trade term on the supplier's quote is an Incoterms rule, one of eleven three-letter terms that, in the International Chamber of Commerce's words, clarify "the tasks, costs and risks involved in the delivery of goods from sellers to buyers."

A forwarder moves the goods, and the entry is yours or a licensed broker's

A freight forwarder books the ship or the plane. Filing the entry for you, for a fee, is a licensed broker's job. CBSA, Customs Notice 16-21:

"Therefore, a business that arranges for the transportation of goods into Canada on behalf of other parties, cannot act as an agent for the release and accounting of goods unless they are a licensed customs broker, as they are receiving compensation, fees or charges for the arrangement."

You can also file yourself: "You can prepare and submit your own release and accounting documents directly to the CBSA."

Consumer products must meet Canada's safety rules before you import them

CBSA's list of other departments names Health Canada for consumer goods. Health Canada's guide to the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act:

"You are not allowed to manufacture, import into Canada, advertise or sell a consumer product that does not comply with the requirements set out in the regulations."

Its examples of products with set requirements are cribs, kettles, lighters, children's sleepwear, strollers and children's jewellery; baby walkers are banned. "Health Canada is not a certifying authority for consumer products." An importer keeps records of who supplied each product, or who bought it, or both, for at least six years unless the regulations set another period. Read the quick reference guide before the first order.

Set up the business once, before the first order ships

Every importer needs a business number with an import (RM) account, its own registration in the CARM Client Portal, and either financial security for Release Prior to Payment or the money to pay duty and GST at release. All of it, with CBSA's wording, is on our page on how to import goods into Canada.