CUSMA’s duty-free treatment is claimed, not automatic — and the certification of origin is how you claim it. With the new US Section 338 tariffs applying even to CUSMA-qualifying goods, certification will not shield you from those specific measures — but it remains what keeps regular duties at zero and what customs authorities audit.
The basics
- No prescribed form: CUSMA replaced NAFTA’s formal certificate with a set of minimum data elements that can appear on an invoice or any other document.
- Who can certify: the exporter, the producer, or the importer — a meaningful change from NAFTA, and one that shifts risk to whoever signs.
- Blanket certifications can cover multiple shipments of identical goods for a period of up to 12 months.
- Recordkeeping: certifiers and importers must keep the certification and supporting origin records for years after importation — origin verifications arrive long after the goods cleared.
Where businesses get burned
The common failures are certifying without actually confirming the goods meet the applicable rule of origin, missing data elements, and signing as importer without the producer’s information to back it up. An invalid certification does not just cost the preference — it invites reassessment.
Why it still matters under Section 338
The 50% Section 338 tariffs stack regardless of CUSMA qualification — but the underlying MFN duty is still avoided with valid certification, and if the Section 338 measures are later struck down or settled, entries with clean CUSMA claims are the easy ones to unwind.
Sources: CUSMA Chapter 5 (origin procedures); CBSA D-memoranda on origin; Global Affairs Canada CUSMA guidance.
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