Two pools per product class — and why a country can be blocked before the quota is full
Canada administers each of the 23 product classes as two separate quotas:
- Non-FTA countries — a quota set at 20% of 2024 import volumes, shared by every country Canada has no free trade agreement with (China, India, Taiwan, Türkiye and others).
- FTA partners (excluding CUSMA) — a quota set at 75% of 2024 volumes, shared by Canada's free-trade partners outside North America — including the United Kingdom, the EU, South Korea and others. CUSMA partners (US, Mexico) are exempt entirely.
Inside each quota there is also a maximum single-country share (shown on every line below). Once a country reaches its cap, its imports pay the surtax even though the overall quota still has tonnage left for other countries. Expand any line's country breakdown to see who is using the quota — and who has already hit their cap.
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Steel grade directory — which Canadian import quota does your grade fall under?
Engineers buy EN3B, EN19 or S355 — not "product class 13". This directory maps the grades used in workshops to the Canadian TRQ product class they are imported under, by product form. Note the Canadian measure covers semi-finished stainless only (ingots, billets and blooms) — finished stainless bar and sheet are not among the 23 classes. Classification always depends on the exact HS tariff code — confirm with your customs broker.
Common questions
What happens when a Canadian steel import quota is used up?
Imports above the tariff rate quota pay a 50% surtax on the value of the goods. Quotas are allocated quarterly on a first-come, first-served basis through shipment-specific import permits; once a quota is fully utilized, further over-quota imports pay the surtax until the next quarterly period opens. Full utilization is not always final, though: shipment-specific permits that are cancelled or go unused return tonnage to the quota — the category 20 standard-pipe pool re-opened this way in late August 2026. This tracker picks up such re-openings with its daily refresh.
Does unused Canadian steel quota carry over to the next quarter?
No. Quantities that remain unused at the end of a quarterly quota period do not carry over to the next period (Global Affairs Canada, Notice to Importers No. 1163, section 3.5). Each quarter starts again at its fixed volume — unlike the UK and EU steel measures, where unused quota rolls forward within the quota year.
How often is the quota data on this tracker updated?
Global Affairs Canada updates its TRQ utilization reports through the quarter as import permits are issued. This tracker refreshes from those reports every day and shows the publication timestamp of the data it is displaying.
What is the per-country share cap on Canadian steel quotas?
Within each quota, no single country may take more than a set maximum share, which varies by product class and pool. That means one country can be blocked from the quota while tonnage is still available to other countries — this tracker flags countries that have hit their cap.
Which pool do UK steel exporters to Canada fall under?
The United Kingdom trades with Canada under a free trade agreement (the Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement) and is not a CUSMA member, so UK-origin steel draws on the FTA-partner quotas, set at 75% of 2024 import volumes. Non-FTA countries are limited to 20% of 2024 volumes.
Are imports from the United States and Mexico covered by Canada's steel TRQs?
No. CUSMA partners — the United States and Mexico — are exempt from these tariff rate quotas. Separate trade measures may still apply to specific goods.
Which steel products are covered by Canada's TRQs?
23 product classes spanning flat products (sheet, plate, coated and pre-painted), long products (bar, rod, rebar, structural steel, wire), pipe and tube (line pipe, OCTG, standard pipe, piling pipe, hollow structural sections) and semi-finished carbon and stainless steel (ingots, billets and blooms). Finished stainless products such as bar and sheet are not among the 23 TRQ classes.
Get a free alert before a Canadian quota runs out
We'll email you when the Canadian steel quotas you care about approach the 50% surtax threshold — including the FTA pool UK exporters ship under. You'll get a confirmation email first, and you can unsubscribe any time.