in effect
This is Executive Order 14231, signed March 6, 2025, which amends an earlier order (Executive Order 14193 of February 1, 2025) that had placed extra tariffs on goods from Canada. It scales back some of those tariffs, stating this is intended to reduce disruption to the U.S. automotive industry and its workers. It relies on presidential authorities including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act.
Goods from Canada that already qualify to enter the U.S. duty-free under the USMCA trade agreement (specifically “general note 11” of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule) are now exempted from the extra tariff that the February order had added. Separately, the extra tariff on potash that does not qualify for that duty-free treatment is lowered from 25 percent to 10 percent. These changes apply to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 7, 2025. The order does not otherwise remove the February tariffs; it carves out these specific exceptions.
Companies that import goods from Canada—particularly automakers and parts suppliers whose products qualify under USMCA—benefit from having the added tariff removed on those qualifying goods. Importers and buyers of potash (a material commonly used in fertilizer) that does not qualify for duty-free treatment now pay a lower added tariff (10 percent instead of 25 percent). The order states it creates no legal rights enforceable against the U.S. government and is to be carried out consistent with existing law and available funding.