Order Amending the Ukraine Goods Remission Order: SOR/2025-135
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 13
Registration
SOR/2025-135 June 5, 2025
CUSTOMS TARIFF
P.C. 2025-502 June 5, 2025
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, makes the annexed Order Amending the Ukraine Goods Remission Order under section 115footnote a of the Customs Tariff footnote b.
Order Amending the Ukraine Goods Remission Order
Amendments
1 Subsection 1(1) of the Ukraine Goods Remission Order footnote 1 is replaced by the following:
Remission — Customs Tariff
1 (1) Subject to section 3, remission is granted of the customs duties paid or payable under the Customs Tariff in respect of goods that originate in Ukraine, except for goods subject to the General Tariff and those classified under one of the tariff items whose number is listed in the schedule.
2 Paragraph 3(a) of the Order is replaced by the following:
- (a) in the case of a remission granted under subsection 1(1), the goods are imported during the period beginning on June 9, 2022 and ending on June 9, 2026;
- (a.1) in the case of a remission granted under subsection 2(1), the goods are either
- (i) imported during the period beginning on June 9, 2022 and ending on June 9, 2025, or
- (ii) in transit to Canada before June 10, 2025; and
3 Section 4 of the Order is replaced by the following:
Repeal
4 This Order is repealed on June 9, 2028.
4 The schedule to the Order is amended by replacing the reference after the heading “SCHEDULE” with the following:
(Subsection 1(1))
Coming into Force
5 This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.
REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Order.)
Issues
The Russian Federation, with support from Belarus, continues to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In addition to the devastating impacts on Ukraine’s population and infrastructure, Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion has significantly harmed Ukraine’s economy.
Since June 9, 2022, the Government of Canada has provided comprehensive duty relief to Ukrainian goods imported into Canada in support of Ukraine’s manufacturing and trade activities. The relief is set to expire on June 9, 2025. In close coordination with its allies, Canada will continue supporting Ukraine’s economy by increasing its export opportunities through an extension of the relief measure.
Background
On February 24, 2022, Russian military forces invaded the sovereign country of Ukraine, including through the territory of Belarus with the permission of that country’s government.
From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Government of Canada has responded to Russia and Belarus’s violation of sovereignty and of international law with a broad range of measures and sanctions, in close coordination with our allies and partners. This response included trade-restrictive measures under the Customs Tariff. Furthermore, the Government of Canada has supported Ukraine, including with development, humanitarian, military and economic assistance.
The Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA), which came into force on August 1, 2017, represents an important milestone in the Canada-Ukraine relationship that brings economic benefits to both countries. The modernized CUFTA came into force on July 1, 2024.
Since June 9, 2022, to provide further economic support to Ukraine, the Ukraine Goods Remission Order (the Order) has provided, under section 115 of the Customs Tariff, additional temporary and comprehensive duty relief to Ukrainian goods imported into Canada. Under this measure, temporary relief from customs, anti-dumping and countervailing duties was provided for all Ukrainian goods, along with more flexible requirements than those for imports under the CUFTA, which currently provides duty-free treatment for all Ukrainian goods except certain refined sugars and over-quota supply-managed goods (i.e. dairy, poultry and eggs). Supply-managed goods were included under the Order from June 2022 to June 2023, at which time they were removed in response to Canadian industry concerns that this could undermine production planning in supply-managed sectors over time, should import volumes reach significant levels.
For this extension, anti-dumping and countervailing duties paid or payable under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) will also be excluded. While remission of duties payable under SIMA was minimal, this will ensure that domestic industry receives appropriate protection from imports that are dumped or subject to unfair advantages.
From June 2022 through February 2025, imports under the Order have resulted in approximately $8.5 million in customs duties remitted, including for certain household appliances, wood floorings, vegetable oils and frozen chicken products.
Given that the conflict continues to significantly disrupt and harm Ukraine’s economy, extending temporary tariff relief is warranted.
Objective
The objective of the Order is to encourage increased exports from Ukraine to Canada to help support economic activity in Ukraine.
Description
The Order allows for the remission of customs duties paid or payable under the Customs Tariff for all goods originating in Ukraine and imported into Canada, with the exception of over-access supply-managed products (i.e. dairy, poultry and eggs), as well as anti-dumping and countervailing duties paid or payable under the Special Import Measures Act.
Remission of duties under the Order is temporary, applying to importations from June 10, 2025, to June 9, 2026.
Regulatory development
Consultation
Since June 9, 2022, the Government of Canada has tracked importations from Ukraine closely and has maintained an ongoing dialogue on the effects of the original order with domestic industry stakeholders.
Canada has also maintained a dialogue with the government of Ukraine, which has requested that the existing Ukraine Goods Remission Order be extended.
The extension of the Order addresses this request, and the Government will continue to monitor imports and maintain an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders. Given this ongoing consultation and reflecting the fact that this renews an existing order, formal public consultations were not conducted. Therefore, this Order was exempted from the requirement set out in the Cabinet Directive on Regulation for prepublication in the Canada Gazette, Part I.
Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation
The Order is not expected to impact potential or established Indigenous or treaty rights, which are recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Instrument choice
Making an Order in Council under section 115 of the Customs Tariff is the most appropriate mechanism to temporarily extend relief from customs duties to support exports from Ukraine to Canada. Therefore, no other instruments were considered.
Regulatory analysis
Benefits and costs
Providing remission of customs duties will continue to encourage economic activity where possible in Ukraine. Extending remission to June 9, 2026, is warranted, given the enduring nature of the conflict and its repercussions for Ukrainian production and trade.
Although duty-free coverage under the Order is virtually equivalent to the CUFTA, some importers may decide to use the Order because it has a lesser administrative burden compared to the CUFTA’s rules of origin and shipping requirements. Specifically, the Order will result in cost savings due to a reduction of proof origin documents under CUFTA.
The Order will also ensure domestic industry is protected by Canada’s trade remedies system. The Order continues to exclude poultry and egg industries to ensure imports in these industries do not undermine production planning in these supply-managed sectors.
Based on this, about $1.2 million in duties are expected to be remitted from June 10, 2025, to June 9, 2026. The Government of Canada will continue to monitor imports from Ukraine under the extended Order.
Small business lens
Analysis using the small business lens concluded that the Order will impact Canadian small businesses. For some small businesses that may import Ukrainian goods, the Order would provide relief from duties as well as cost savings resulting from a reduced burden of proof to access duty relief, namely an exemption from having to provide certificates of origin demonstrating that their goods were produced in Ukraine. To request the remission, importers completing their Customs Automated Declaration (CAD), formerly the B3 form, may enter code 22-649 in the special authority field, which relieves them from the requirement to calculate or enter a duty amount in the appropriate field.
One-for-one rule
The one-for-one rule applies since there is an incremental decrease in administrative burden on business, and the Order is considered burden out under the rule. No regulatory titles are repealed or introduced. The amendments would result in an annualized administrative total cost savings of $181.
The Order will temporarily lift requirements to provide documentation in support of preferential tariff treatment, such as proof of origin. It is anticipated that this will save approximately one minute of time for each importation made by an estimated 767 importers, who in total process 3 124 transactions per year. Assuming this task is performed at the average Canadian salary, this amounts to an estimated annualized savings of $181 as measured using the required method under the Red Tape Reduction Regulations (measured at 2012 price levels and discounted to 2012 using a 7% discount rate).
As per the Red Tape Reduction Regulations, the assessment of administrative impacts was conducted for a period of ten years commencing from registration. All values listed in this section are presented in 2012 dollars, discounted to 2012 at a rate of 7%.
Regulatory cooperation and alignment
The Order is not directly linked to any international agreements; it is complementary to CUFTA.
The European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (U.S.) had one-year programs from June 2022 to June 2023 and renewed them for an additional year. In February 2024, the United Kingdom extended remission of Ukrainian goods by five years until 2029. In January 2024, the EU extended their remission by an additional year.
On April 3, 2025, the U.S. added an additional 10% tariff on all goods imported from Ukraine. New U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles also apply to Ukraine.
Effects on the environment
In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.
Gender-based analysis plus
No gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) impacts have been identified for the Order.
Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards
The Order comes into force upon registration to extend duty relief from June 9, 2025, to June 9, 2026. The Government will continue to monitor imports and engage with stakeholders that may be affected by the Order. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will monitor compliance with the terms and conditions of the Order in the normal course of its administration of customs and tariff-related legislation and regulations. The CBSA will inform importers through the publication of a Customs Notice that provides information on making claims of remission (i.e. refunds of relevant duties paid or waiver of duties payable).
Contact
Mike Mosier
Director
Trade and Tariff Policy
International Trade Policy Division
Department of Finance
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G5
Email: tariff-tarif@fin.gc.ca