March 10, 2025 – The containership SM Portland, operated by SM Line, lost 115 containers due to severe weather while sailing through the Bering Sea on March 4. Strong winds caused the 4,228-TEU vessel to roll heavily, leading to the loss, collapse, and damage of its cargo. The ship is now scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on March 10, where it will undergo inspection before offloading its cargo. Canaan Transport will be advising any affected customers to confirm if their goods were impacted.
March 6, 2025 – The White House announced Thursday afternoon that it will suspend tariffs on all imports that are compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement until April 2. The pause, which was extended to imports from Mexico that adhered to the agreement earlier Thursday, will now also cover goods from Canada that meet the trade deal’s requirements. The move builds on Wednesday’s exemption for car imports from either country. Roughly half of Mexico imports to the U.S. are CUSMA compliant, while nearly 40% of those from Canada are, CNBC reported, citing a White House official. The U.S. is preparing to enact a universal reciprocal tariff policy on April 2, the day the pause ends.
March 5, 2025 – The following is the updated list of products that will be subject to tariffs when entering Canada from the US. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2025/03/list-of-products-from-the-united-states-subject-to-25-per-cent-tariffs-effective-march-4-2025.html
March 4, 2025 – The US government has now imposed a 25% tariff tax on virtually all goods from Canada and Mexico effective today. The Canadian government is expected to retaliate with its own tariffs on US imports. More news as it develops.
February 24, 2025 – Container spot freight rates on the major east-west liner trades experienced another week of decline, as slack demand continued to depress pricing. The Drewry’s World Container Index’s (WCI) composite global rate showed a week-on-week decline of 10%, to $2,795 per 40ft, dragging overall rates down to a level last seen in April last year. It was a bad week for transpacific carriers, which saw spot rates to both the U.S. east and west coasts decline by double-digit amounts and, for the first time in months, steeper falls than on Asia-Europe routes. The WCI’s reading for Shanghai-Los Angeles saw a week-on-week decline of 11%, to $3,888 per 40ft, while the Shanghai-New York leg fell 13%, to $5,126 per 40ft, with one source in China suggesting carriers are increasingly competing for cargo on the routes, leading to the spot rate price-cutting. The WCI spot rate on the headhaul Rotterdam-New York leg also fell week on week, by 3%, to $2,394 per 40ft.
February 3, 2025 – After a series of calls on Monday afternoon, the proposed tariffs of both the US and Canadian governments have been put on hold for the next 30 days. The proposed tariffs were slated to come into effect tonight. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates when they are available.
February 2, 2025 – Effective February 4, the Government of Canada is imposing 25 percent tariffs on $30 billion in goods imported from the United States. These tariffs apply only to goods originating from the U.S., which shall be considered as those goods eligible to be marked as a good of the U.S. in accordance with the Determination of Country of Origin for the Purposes of Marking Goods (CUSMA Countries) Regulations. These countermeasures are effective immediately and will remain in place until the U.S. eliminates its tariffs against Canada. Canada’s countermeasures do not apply to U.S. goods that are in transit to Canada on the day on which they come into force. Additional details on the administration of these tariffs are available on the Canada Border Services Agency website: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2025/02/list-of-products-from-the-united-states-subject-to-25-per-cent-tariffs-effective-february-4-2025.html
January 31, 2025 – The Canada Border Services Agency is fully prepared to implement any surtax orders that the Government of Canada may introduce in response to tariffs imposed by the United States. The Government of Canada is actively engaged in efforts to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs and is working closely with the U.S. government to avoid such measures. We have been advised by Finance Canada that remissions may be considered following the imposition of a surtax. It is CBSA’s understanding that the Government of Canada may implement a surtax immediately after the imposition of U.S. tariffs on a range of goods without prior consultation, with the possibility of later consulting Canadians on a broader range of goods. In either scenario, CBSA stands ready to promptly execute the surtax order. The surtaxes previously imposed against unfair practices of China (e.g., Customs Notice 24-36: China Surtax Order (2024) – Steel and Aluminum) have served as an excellent preparatory exercise for any potential retaliatory surtaxes. Stakeholders can anticipate receiving a customs notice from CBSA and guidance on how to self-assess the surtax in the Canadian Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system.
January 28, 2025 – Both CN and CPKC have announced new tentative four-year collective agreements, CN with the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW), CPKC with Unifor. CN’s tentative pact ended the possibility that IBEW members would go on strike. The union had filed a 72-hour strike notice under which a work stoppage could have begun yesterday. No details of either tentative agreement have been released, pending ratification.
January 24, 2025 – 1. In order to further support the transition to the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system, effective January 20, 2025, and up to the March billing period due date of March 31, 2025, the Canada Border Services Agency will not be issuing late payment penalties and late payment interest.
2. Effective April 1, 2025, all accounts with an overdue balance from the March 2025 statement of account (SOA) will be subject to late payment penalties.
3. Effective April 4, 2025, late payment interest will start accruing on accounts with an overdue balance and will be included on the SOA to be issued on April 25, 2025.
4. An account for which an SOA has not been paid, as per the specified due date, will be subject to collection measures by the Canada Revenue Agency.