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Canada tariff exemptions: Trump swaps plywood for valves

It is a swap, not a cut: the same proclamation adds valves, carpets and waste products to the list. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who faces Troy Jackson on November 3, says she pushed for the relief.

By Rowan Ashby Published 24.10.26 03:14 UTC 6 min read

Official US Senate portrait of Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins — United States Congress / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain · Source

Key takeaways

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on October 23, 2026 removing plywood sheets, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment, and certain packing crates and boxes from the 50% Section 338 tariffs on Canadian goods.
The change takes effect on October 30, 2026, according to the White House fact sheet.
It is a swap, not a cut: the same proclamation adds certain valves, carpets, waste products and other items to the tariff list.
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who faces Democrat Troy Jackson in the November 3 election, says she asked for the relief on behalf of Maine farmers and growers. The White House statement did not mention her.
No formal response from Ottawa had been reported by the time of writing. Canada's retaliatory tariffs on US goods remain in place.

Canada tariff exemptions: what Trump changed on October 23

Canada tariff exemptions take effect October 30: US importers will no longer pay the 50% Section 338 duty on Canadian plywood, some paper products, certain machinery and packing crates. The White House says duties on valves, carpets and waste products replace them.

The White House says the proclamation "further refine[s] the scope" of the tariffs. These were first announced on July 20, 2026 and amended on September 8. It said the goal was to keep offsetting what it calls Canada's discriminatory treatment of US commerce "while better serving the public interest," according to the fact sheet and the Associated Press.

The fact sheet lists product categories rather than tariff codes. The exact Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) lines are in the proclamation's annex. Importers will need to check those lines, not the summary, to see whether a specific shipment is covered.

Which Canadian products are exempt, and which are newly tariffed

The table below combines the White House fact sheet with the items Sen. Collins listed when she announced the relief, as reported by NBC News. The Collins items are her description. They may overlap with the official categories, and the annex is the final word.

Status from October 30, 2026	Products	Source
Removed from 50% tariff	Plywood sheets; some paper products; certain machinery and refrigeration equipment; certain packing crates and boxes	White House fact sheet, Oct 23
Removed (as described by Collins)	Plastic containers and crates, packing materials, sealing and labeling machinery, packing equipment, film and foil; items used by blueberry, potato, apple and seaweed producers	Sen. Collins, via NBC News
Added to 50% tariff	Certain valves, carpets, waste products and other unspecified items	White House fact sheet, Oct 23
Still tariffed	The rest of the Section 338 list, which originally covered 554 eight-digit HTS lines including maple syrup, ice hockey equipment and dairy products	Davis Wright Tremaine; CRS
Not covered by Section 338	Softwood lumber and other goods already subject to Section 232 duties, which are handled under that separate regime	Davis Wright Tremaine
Banned from import	About $1 billion of goods, including alcoholic beverages, some dairy products and motorcycles (ban effective September 29)	AP; CRS

The fact sheet repeats two features that matter for importers. The duty applies whether or not a good qualifies under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). It also applies in addition to any Section 232 tariffs on the same item.

How the 50% Canada tariffs got here

Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 lets the president impose duties of up to 50% on goods from a country that discriminates against US commerce. If the discrimination continues, the president can ban that country's goods. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) says the July 2026 proclamations were the first time a president had expressly used the law to impose tariffs.

Three proclamations signed on July 20 (Nos. 11046, 11047 and 11048) targeted Canada's provincial alcohol restrictions, its dairy quota practices and its vehicle-tariff framework. After trade talks collapsed, the 50% duties took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on August 22, according to law firm Davis Wright Tremaine. AP puts the trade covered at about $20 billion a year.

Proclamations on September 8 reshuffled the list from September 15, adding more dairy, wood products, furniture and motorboats. Separate orders banned some Canadian products outright from September 29. Canada answered with counter-tariffs of 15%, 25% or 50% on about C$27.6 billion (roughly US$20 billion) of US goods from September 8, matching US measures "dollar for dollar," according to CRS.

The Susan Collins angle

Collins announced the relief herself. She said she had spoken to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about "the toll tariffs are taking on Maine families, businesses, farmers, and growers," AP reported. Her office pointed to Maine's wild blueberry growers, who rely on specialized Canadian harvesting boxes that fit their processing equipment. She said she would keep seeking "additional relief," and has called Canada Maine's largest trading partner.

NBC News noted that Collins's statement did not mention Trump, and the White House statement did not mention Collins. AP and NBC both described the timing, eleven days before the midterms, as an effort to help Collins in a tight race. Neither the White House nor Collins has said so.

Democrats rejected that framing. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, called it a "desperate, 11th hour attempt" to save Collins's career, according to AP. Jackson wrote on X that "Mainers needed help long before Susan Collins needed saving," NBC reported.

The backdrop is voter frustration with prices. An AP-NORC poll of 2,140 US adults, conducted September 24–28, found that 65% blame Trump's policies more than outside factors for persistently high prices.

Ottawa's response

As of publication, AP and NBC reported no formal statement from the Canadian government on the October 23 changes. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called US demands "unfair" and "uneconomic." Asked earlier about Trump's September prediction that Canada would drop its counter-tariffs, he laughed and declined to comment further, NBC reported.

Ottawa is expanding trade with other partners. An EU-Canada summit in Montreal is expected next week, where NBC says Canada could gain "associate member" status with the European Union. Relations are also strained over a separate dispute about US claims of Canadian interference in the midterms.

What it means for importers and Maine businesses

Check the annex, not the headline. The exemptions cover specific HTS lines. A plywood product or crate may or may not match the listed codes. Customs brokers will work from the proclamation annex and US Customs and Border Protection guidance.
Timing matters. The changes apply from October 30, so goods entered before then still pay the 50% rate on removed items. Newly added valves, carpets and waste products start paying from the same date.
Winners and losers shift. Maine blueberry, potato and apple growers and seaweed processors that buy Canadian packaging and equipment should see lower landed costs. US buyers of Canadian valves and carpets face new ones. AP notes that US importers, not foreign governments, pay the duty.
No change for lumber. Canadian softwood lumber sits under Section 232, not Section 338, so this order does not change its tariff.
Legal risk remains. A New Jersey food importer is already challenging the Section 338 tariffs at the US Court of International Trade. The duties stay in force unless the court rules otherwise.

What we don't know yet

The fact sheet does not give the value of trade moving off or onto the list. It also does not say whether the change is meant to be revenue-neutral. The full list of added items beyond valves, carpets and waste products has not been published in summary form. The Commerce Department and the Office of the US Trade Representative did not immediately respond to NBC's requests for comment.

Frequently asked questions

Which Canadian products are exempt from the 50% US tariffs?

Under the October 23, 2026 proclamation, plywood sheets, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment, and certain packing crates and boxes come off the Section 338 tariff list. The exact tariff codes are in the proclamation's annex.