Strature BriefsDecision BriefNo. 022Edition 1.030 Sep 2026
Decision Brief · Canada

The 50% duty, line by line: what it costs, and when Canadian exporters must decide

By 31 December 2026 the duty lasts or widens in futures we put at 70%, eases on some lines in 23%, ends in 7%; each our estimate, scored when it resolves.

Evidence to 30 September 2026; facts refreshed 30 September 2026.

Exhibit G1 · Decision Brief No. 022
At the end of 2026 the duty lasts or widens in futures worth 70%
Six futures to 31 December 2026, % · our estimates, registered 30 Sep 2026 as F-0156 to F-0161 and scored when they resolve

Dashed line: Even odds · 50%

Lasts · 70%

  • 7% Ends
  • 23% Eases
  • 25.2% Lasts, sales hold
  • 28% Lasts, sales cut
  • 15.4% Lasts, collapse
  • 1.4% Not measured
SourceStrature forecast register, F-0156 to F-0161, registered 30 Sep 2026 and scored when they resolve on 31 Dec 2026; sales measured on Statistics Canada monthly trade.LicenceStrature's own registered estimates.How to read this plateThe accent marks the share the exhibit's title is about; the bar is the whole, 100%.DataDownload the chart data (CSV) q-022-g1.csv
Exhibit G1 · Canada · strature.net

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Strature BriefsDecision BriefNo. 022Edition 1.030 Sep 2026

Evidence to 30 September 2026; facts refreshed 30 September 2026.

Data. Each exhibit’s Download the chart data (CSV) link gives exactly the values drawn in that chart, with its title, source, credit, licence, retrieval date, the brief’s number and our general-research notice in the file’s first lines. It is free to use under the licence stated with it, crediting the source as printed. Deeper datasets come only with the full brief.

Live exhibits

The other free exhibits, with their data.

Exhibit L1 · Decision Brief No. 022
Absorbing erases the margin unless US customers carry at least 54 to 81%
Share of the 50% duty US customers must carry, no sales lost · our calculation

Dashed line: Half · 50%

Electrical, at least54.2%
Paper, at least61.5%
Plastics67.4%
Furniture, at least76.3%
Wood, at least80.6%
% of the duty
Absorbing erases the margin unless US customers carry at least 54 to 81%: the data
Item% of the duty
Electrical, at least54.2%
Paper, at least61.5%
Plastics67.4%
Furniture, at least76.3%
Wood, at least80.6%
SourceStrature model; retrieved 30 Sep 2026.CreditAdapted from Statistics Canada, Table 16-10-0117-01, Principal statistics for manufacturing industries, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2024. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.CreditAdapted from Statistics Canada, Table 33-10-0225-01, Quarterly balance sheet, income statement and selected financial ratios, by non-financial industries, non seasonally adjusted, second quarter 2026. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.LicenceStatistics Canada Open Licence (Tables 16-10-0117-01 and 33-10-0225-01), with Strature's model.How to read this plateThe accent: none. The dashed line is the datum each bar is read against.DataDownload the chart data (CSV) q-022-l1.csv
Exhibit L1 · Canada · strature.net
Exhibit L5 · Decision Brief No. 022
C$6.5bn to C$17.5bn of the five groups' US sales sit on listed lines
2025 US-bound exports on Section 338 listed lines, C$bn · five largest groups · lines surely listed and all that may be

Dashed line: Zero · C$0

Electrical, surely listed0.4bn
Electrical, may be listed4.5bn
Plastics, surely listed2.3bn
Plastics, may be listed3.9bn
Furniture, surely listed2bn
Furniture, may be listed3.8bn
Paper, surely listed0.9bn
Paper, may be listed3.2bn
Wood, surely listed0.9bn
Wood, may be listed2.1bn
C$bn, 2025
C$6.5bn to C$17.5bn of the five groups' US sales sit on listed lines: the data
ItemC$bn, 2025
Electrical, surely listed0.4bn
Electrical, may be listed4.5bn
Plastics, surely listed2.3bn
Plastics, may be listed3.9bn
Furniture, surely listed2bn
Furniture, may be listed3.8bn
Paper, surely listed0.9bn
Paper, may be listed3.2bn
Wood, surely listed0.9bn
Wood, may be listed2.1bn
SourceStatistics Canada CIMT, domestic exports to the US on listed lines, 2025; Strature calculation; retrieved 30 Sep 2026.CreditAdapted from Statistics Canada, Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database, domestic exports to the United States, 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.LicenceStatistics Canada Open Licence (CIMT), with Strature's arithmetic.How to read this plateThe accent: none. The dashed line is the datum each bar is read against.DataDownload the chart data (CSV) q-022-l5.csv
Exhibit L5 · Canada · strature.net
Strature GPS · Questions this brief answers

16 questions answered, each on the map.

Each answer is quoted verbatim from the brief, with the section that answers it and the countries it touches. Answers with a register ID are our estimates, scored when they resolve; the others are the brief’s reading of the evidence, not forecasts.

Countries in this brief, on Strature GPS

Answered in: The call (one-page sheet; at a glance)

Geoeconomic

What does the 50% duty cost, line by line, and when must Canadian exporters decide?

“Absorbing the 50% erases margins unless US customers carry at least 54 to 81% with no sales lost; at the mildest loss, 88 to 91%, paper and electrical only (our calculation). Decision point: 4 November, confirmed 8 December.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Geoeconomic · Geopolitical

Will the 50% duty last past 31 December 2026?

“By 31 December 2026 the duty lasts or widens in futures we put at 70%, eases on some lines in 23%, ends in 7%; each our estimate, scored when it resolves.”

our estimate, scored when it resolves

On the register: F-0156 7%, open · F-0157 23%, open · F-0158 25%, open · F-0159 28%, open · F-0160 15%, open · F-0161 1%, open. The forecast register

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 01. No US instrument ends or changes the Section 338 duties on 1 January 2027

Geoeconomic · Geopolitical

How long will the duty last?

“No instrument read ends or cuts the Section 338 duty or gives it an end date, which means an exporter could plan on it lasting into 2027.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Show all 16 questions

Answered in: 04. Exposure to the duty differs line by line, not sector by sector

Geoeconomic · Geopolitical

Which goods are caught, and does origin help?

“Whether the duty bites is decided by the ten-digit tariff line, not by the sector a firm belongs to.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 06. No exporter or US buyer filing yet shows US customers switching suppliers

Geoeconomic

Will US customers pay, or will other markets buy?

“No filing we read shows US customers dropping Canadian suppliers, and every period in them ended before the duty began.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 08. Absorbing erases margins unless customers carry at least 54 to 81% of the duty

Geoeconomic

Hold, redirect or move, and when?

“Absorbing the duty erases the margin in the five largest groups unless US customers carry at least 54 to 81% of it, with no sales lost (our calculation).”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 12. Relief is mostly loans, and a loan can bring a covenant breach forward

Geoeconomic

Who can carry the duty, and what relief comes?

“Most tariff relief must be repaid, and none of it is sized to the US duty.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 02. Each Section 338 change came from Washington, not from the CUSMA review

Geoeconomic · Geopolitical

Did the Section 338 changes come from Washington or from the CUSMA review?

“Every Section 338 instrument so far was a US proclamation or customs bulletin, which means the CUSMA review has not been where an exporter's duty is set.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 03. At IEEPA's pace, a suit filed now would stop collection only after June 2027

Geoeconomic · Geopolitical

Could a court suit stop the duty's collection before June 2027?

“No suit against the Section 338 duty has been found, which means a court exit, at the only pace on record, would stop collection after June 2027.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 05. A US final step avoids the duty only where the crossing input is unlisted

Geoeconomic

Does a US final step avoid the duty?

“Our reading of the published rules, not a customs ruling: a US finishing step leaves the duty in place, because it is charged as the Canadian article crosses.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 07. The US buys 77 to 99% of each line, leaving others only a slice

Geoeconomic

How much of each listed line does the US buy, and could other markets take it?

“Other markets take only a slice of what Canada ships to the US today, since the US buys almost all of it.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 09. The relocation record shows Canadian cuts, not whole-plant moves to the US

Geoeconomic

Does the relocation record show whole plants moving to the US?

“Of 12 relocation announcements on record, 9 cut Canadian capacity and none moves a whole plant to the US.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 10. Post-duty trade data, not the undated review, is the trigger worth waiting for

Geoeconomic

Is the trade data or the CUSMA review the trigger worth waiting for?

“The review that could end the duty has no date, while the trade data that show who pays arrive on fixed days.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 13. Refunds from any court win go to the importer of record or its designee

Geoeconomic

Who receives the refund if a court strikes the duty?

“If a court strikes the Section 338 duty, the refund goes to whoever entered the goods, not to the firm that made them.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 11. On the worked line, a redirect breaks even after 9.9 months and a move with an unlisted input after 36

Geoeconomic

On the worked line, when does a redirect or a move break even?

“On the worked line, a redirect breaks even after 9.9 months and a move with an unlisted input after 36”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Answered in: 16. Who pays the duty is not yet observed, and eight further limits bound this edition

Geoeconomic

What is not yet known about who pays the duty?

“No listed line had a trade month after the duty began, and no exporter or US buyer filing covered a period after 22 August 2026.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Canada Affected United States

Since publication

What has changed since the research, dated.

Registered forecasts are never changed: they stay as issued and are scored as registered. Facts found after the research date are listed here with their date and source.

Registered with this edition, as issued

Forecasts registered with this edition, printed as issued
No.ForecastEstimateIssuedResolvesStatus
F-0156the duty ends7% our estimate, scored when it resolvesIssued 30 Sep 2026Resolves 31 Dec 2026Open
F-0157partial relief23% our estimate, scored when it resolvesIssued 30 Sep 2026Resolves 31 Dec 2026Open
F-0158the duty lasts, US-bound sales hold25.2% our estimate, scored when it resolvesIssued 30 Sep 2026Resolves 31 Dec 2026Open
F-0159the duty lasts, US-bound sales cut28% our estimate, scored when it resolvesIssued 30 Sep 2026Resolves 31 Dec 2026Open
F-0160the duty lasts, US-bound sales collapse15.4% our estimate, scored when it resolvesIssued 30 Sep 2026Resolves 31 Dec 2026Open
F-0161the duty lasts, sales not yet measured1.4% our estimate, scored when it resolvesIssued 30 Sep 2026Resolves 31 Dec 2026Open

No fact has been added since the research date.

No new forecast is issued with these facts; a new view would be a new, separately dated forecast.

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