Field notes from the Canadian border.
Practical playbooks and case studies from our brokers. No thought-leadership fluff — just the stuff we wish every importer knew before they called us in a panic.
Steel Surtax Remission Orders: What Filing Under Section 115 Means for Your Next Import
PC 2026-334 amends the 2025 steel surtax remission order. If you're bringing in subject goods and relying on remission, here's what changes at the CAD level and why your broker needs the full paper trail before release.
Read article →TCC26-0084 and the Real Cost of ACK Delays
CBSA's EDI and eManifest acknowledgement delays aren't just a technical hiccup — they break release workflows, risk double-filing, and leave your drivers guessing. Here's what to do when the outbound message queue stalls.
Read article →The Wood Products Safeguard Inquiry Is Live — Here's What Changes for Your CADs and What Doesn't
Finance has kicked off a 270-day CITT safeguard inquiry on cabinets, vanities, flooring, and engineered furniture. No immediate duties, but classifications matter now, and your paper trail needs to be clean before the Tribunal reports out.
Read article →What Falling Mexico-U.S. Truck Volumes Mean for Canadian Importers and Cross-Border Supply Chains
March 2025 saw a notable drop in truck exports from Mexico to the United States, signaling shifts in North American trade flows. Canadian importers relying on tri-national supply chains and CUSMA-origin goods should understand how these changes affect customs clearance timelines, duty relief strategies, and warehouse capacity planning.
Read article →What the QXO-TopBuild Merger Means for Canadian Building Materials Importers
The $17 billion acquisition of TopBuild by QXO creates North America's second-largest building products distributor. Canadian importers should prepare for potential supply chain shifts, updated vendor contacts, and revised CUSMA origin declarations as the combined entity consolidates operations across the border.
Read article →Temu Seller Expansion in Canada: What It Means for Customs Clearance and Cross-Border Compliance
As Temu opens its platform to more Canadian sellers and financing becomes more accessible, importers face new customs clearance challenges. This guide covers CBSA requirements, duty management, and compliance considerations for businesses entering or scaling on Temu's marketplace.
Read article →West Coast Port Disruptions and What They Mean for Canadian Import Clearance
Instability at BC ports ripples through customs timelines, duty payments, and compliance risk. Mid-market importers need contingency plans, pre-arrival filing discipline, and freight routing alternatives to protect clearance velocity when West Coast terminals face labor or operational disruptions.
Read article →Why Freight Rate Volatility Is Hitting Canadian Importers' Customs Budgets
Spot and contract freight rate convergence is reshaping how Canadian importers budget for landed costs. Understanding the interplay between freight volatility, customs valuation, and duty calculations helps mid-market companies manage cash flow and avoid surprises at the border.
Read article →CBSA's Updated System Outage Contingency Plan: What Actually Changed and Why You Should Care This Time
CBSA quietly rolled out a new System Outage Contingency Plan in April 2026. Most updates are housekeeping, but the clarified roles and split charts for import vs export data transmission matter when CARM or eManifest go sideways and your shipments are stuck.
Read article →CFIA Suspends China Pet Food Export Certificates — What It Means for Two-Way Lanes and Your NRI Exposure
CFIA pulled the plug on pet food export certs to China this week. For importers, it's a reminder that export suspensions often precede reciprocal SPS action — and that your NRI penalty clock starts ticking the second a foreign regulator decides your product isn't welcome anymore.
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