Border brief,
Canada tariff list changes Thursday; Midwest diesel jumps 12.8 cents
The revised 50% Section 338 list applies to Canadian goods entered from 12:01 a.m. ET Thursday. EIA's Oct. 26 survey put Midwest diesel at $6.480 a gallon, up 12.8 cents, and Unifor says Stellantis bargaining has not resumed.
At the border
We could not pull Wednesday-morning commercial waits in time for this brief. Before dispatching, check the live wait times for the Ambassador, Gordie Howe and Blue Water bridges, and the Niagara page for the Peace Bridge and Lewiston–Queenston. Our search this morning found no newly reported closures at those crossings or at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.
The date that matters this week is Thursday, Oct. 30. The revised Section 338 product list, proclaimed Oct. 23, covers Canadian goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse, at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern that day, according to an Oct. 23 compliance briefing. The duty rate stays at 50%. The briefing gives no new Chapter 99 numbers and tells importers to watch for CBP implementation guidance. As of this morning we could not find a CBP CSMS message on the Oct. 30 change; the most recent one we found on Section 338 changes is CSMS 69851916, from Sept. 11.
Analysis: the trigger is the entry time, not the moment a truck clears the bridge. A load of newly added goods that crosses late Wednesday night but is entered after midnight could owe the duty, and a load of removed goods could be spared it by waiting. Brokers should check tariff codes against the proclamation's annexes today and settle timing with shippers before trucks are dispatched.
Diesel
EIA's survey for the week of Oct. 26, released Tuesday, put the Midwest diesel average at $6.480 a gallon, up 12.8 cents from the week before. The U.S. average was $6.352, up 7.6 cents. The Midwest is now about 13 cents above the national average, wider than the 7.6-cent gap a week earlier.
We could not confirm this week's Windsor price or exchange rate; Ontario's fuel price page was not loading data this morning. Check our diesel page for the cross-border comparison before deciding which side to fuel on.
What we're watching
- Stellantis Canada. Unifor Local 444 president James Stewart said Tuesday the union has "not resumed bargaining at this point" while talks among the union, Stellantis and Ottawa continue, CP24 reported. The union is still not in a legal strike position because neither side has asked for a no-board report. Windsor's third shift and the idled Brampton plant remain the open issues.
- CBP guidance. Analysis: if CBP publishes a CSMS message before Thursday, it may set filing details such as new Chapter 99 numbers. Brokers should watch for it today and tonight.
- The Soo. The International Bridge rolls passenger tolls back to $1.50 US on Saturday, Oct. 31, its 64th anniversary. The notice does not mention commercial rates, so expect normal truck tolls.
Sources
Tariff timing: Ginger Control briefing, Oct. 23. Earlier CBP guidance: Expeditors on CSMS 69851916. Diesel: EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. Stellantis: CP24, Oct. 27. Sault toll rollback: Sault Ste. Marie CVB.