Canada published SOR/2026-154 in the Canada Gazette on June 30, 2026, granting tariff relief for residential gas furnaces from the country's retaliatory surtaxes on U.S. steel and aluminum, according to a newsletter published by the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI).

The regulation amends the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) to exempt residential gas furnaces, classified under tariff heading 7322.90.10, from surtaxes that have applied to U.S. steel and aluminum imports since March 13, 2025.

Background on Canada's Retaliatory Surtaxes

Canada imposed retaliatory surtaxes on a range of U.S. steel and aluminum products beginning March 13, 2025. The United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) subsequently established a mechanism for Canadian importers to seek relief from those surtaxes on specific goods. The June 30, 2026 amendment, published as SOR/2026-154, adds residential gas furnaces to the list of goods eligible for that relief.

The Canada Gazette is the official publication of the Government of Canada for regulations, including remission orders such as SOR/2026-154. A remission order allows the government to relieve importers of duties or surtaxes that have been paid, or would otherwise be owed, on specified goods under defined conditions, rather than repealing the underlying surtax itself.

The regulatory text of the amendment is published on the Canada Gazette's website, under the listing for SOR/2026-154. The amendment applies to the surtax regime that has been in place since March 13, 2025, and does not affect surtaxes on other categories of U.S. steel and aluminum goods.

Canada's retaliatory surtaxes were part of a broader set of trade measures affecting a range of U.S.-origin goods entering the Canadian market. The United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) has functioned as the regulatory vehicle through which Canada has granted case-by-case relief from those surtaxes, and SOR/2026-154 represents the latest amendment to that order, specific to residential gas furnaces classified under tariff heading 7322.90.10.

HRAI's Advocacy for Tariff Relief

HRAI lobbied directly for the exemption, arguing that residential gas furnaces are not produced domestically in Canada in sufficient quantity to meet demand without imports. The association's advocacy led to the addition of residential gas furnaces to the surtax remission order, according to HRAI's newsletter announcing the change.

HRAI represents manufacturers, distributors and contractors in Canada's heating, refrigeration and air conditioning industry, and the association had pressed for the exemption on behalf of members that import gas furnaces from the United States. Without the exemption, importers of residential gas furnaces would have continued paying the retaliatory surtax on the steel and aluminum content of those units.

HRAI's argument centered on supply constraints in the Canadian furnace market: because domestic production of residential gas furnaces is not sufficient to meet Canadian demand, according to the association, importers rely on units sourced from the United States to fill that gap. That was the basis HRAI cited in seeking the surtax exemption for residential gas furnaces specifically.

How Importers Can Claim the Tariff Relief

Importers seeking the tariff relief must use special authorization code 25-0466M, which applies either at the time of import or through a retroactive adjustment for furnaces imported before the amendment took effect. Importers have up to two years from the date of importation to file for remission under the exemption.

The two-year window means importers who paid the retaliatory surtax on residential gas furnaces between March 13, 2025, and the June 30, 2026, publication of SOR/2026-154 may still be able to claim relief retroactively, using the same special authorization code, provided they file within that two-year period from the date each shipment was imported.

HRAI's Director of Regulatory Affairs, Perry Chao, is listed as the contact for member questions about how to claim the exemption.

What's Next

The exemption applies specifically to residential gas furnaces under tariff classification 7322.90.10. Canada's broader retaliatory surtax regime on other categories of U.S. steel and aluminum products remains in effect and was not altered by the June 30 amendment.

SOR/2026-154 took the form of an amendment to the existing United States Surtax Remission Order (2025) rather than a standalone regulation, meaning the residential gas furnace exemption operates within the same remission framework Canada has used to grant relief for other goods since the retaliatory surtaxes took effect in March 2025.

For contractors, distributors and manufacturers in Canada's HVAC trade, the exemption is specific to residential gas furnaces under tariff classification 7322.90.10; goods outside that classification, or gas furnaces intended for non-residential use, are not addressed by SOR/2026-154 and remain subject to whatever surtax treatment applied to them prior to the June 30, 2026 amendment.