On June 19, 2026, the Department of Finance announced a 10% provisional safeguard measure on global imports of canned vegetables (Provisional Safeguard). The Order-in-Council can be found here, along with the relevant Customs Notice here. This measure was introduced three months after the Government of Canada directed the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) to conduct a safeguard inquiry into frozen and canned vegetables (Vegetable Safeguard Inquiry), in the same week as the inquiry’s public hearings, and followed the launch of the Government of Canada’s National Food Security Strategy.
Practical considerations for importers, exporters, and consumers
The canned vegetables included in the Provisional Safeguard include: corn; peas; green beans; wax beans; mixes of peas and carrots; mixed vegetables; white, black, red and pinto beans; and chickpeas. The list of relevant tariff classifications is provides for in Schedule 1 of the Order-in-Council. The Provisional Safeguard does not apply to frozen or fresh vegetables and certain exclusions are in place: Canned vegetables originating in developing countries; and CUSMA covered products originating in the US or Mexico.
The Provisional Safeguard may remain in place for up to 200 days from June 19, 2026 (so until January 4, 2027). If prior to that date, the CITT determines that domestic producers are not seriously injured, nor at risk of serious injury caused by imports, the Provisional Safeguard may be lifted prior to the 200 days. In case of a “no-injury” finding by the CITT, all duties paid in respect of the Provisional Safeguard will be refunded to the importer of record.
Legal framework for the provisional safeguard
The Provisional Safeguard was implemented under section 55(1) of the Customs Tariff, which implements Canada’s WTO obligations under the Agreement on Safeguards, permitting the Government of Canada to apply a surtax to imported goods that cause or threaten serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive goods.
The Provisional Safeguard is subject to Canada’s obligations under Article 6 of the Agreement: there must be “critical circumstances” where any delay in implementing a safeguard measure would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair. The Government is required to continue with the underlying CITT inquiry.
Impact on the CITT Vegetable Safeguard Inquiry
The scope of the Vegetable Safeguard Inquiry (see CITT Notice of Commencement here) is broader than the Provisional Safeguard; covered goods include frozen vegetables, in addition to canned vegetables. The inquiry is considering whether imports of canned and frozen vegetables are causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury to domestic producers. The public hearings took place in mid-June, where expert testimony suggested that a safeguard measure would likely increase the cost of imported canned goods for consumers. We provide an in-depth overview of the initiation of the CITT Vegetable Safeguard Inquiry here.
The Vegetable Safeguard proceedings are schedule to conclude on September 9, 2026. If the CITT makes an injury finding, it will issue recommendations on a proposed remedy to the Government of Canada (i.e. a surtax, or a TRQ). The Minister of Finance will likely determine whether the recommendations will be implemented and the timing of implementation, which includes a decision on whether the Provisional Safeguard will remain in force. If the CITT makes a no-injury finding, then the Provisional Safeguard will be terminated and all duties paid under same will be refunded. The 2018-2019 steel safeguard inquiry serves as a procedural precedent for a no-injury finding where a provisional safeguard measure was imposed. In this case, the Government imposed provisional safeguard surtaxes on seven classes of steel products. The CITT determined that a safeguard measure was not warranted for five of the seven classes of steel products. Accordingly, the Government issued the Surtax on the Importation of Certain Steel Goods Refund Order, refunding the provisional safeguard surtaxes paid on the product classes for which safeguard measures were not warranted.
The authors acknowledge the assistance of Alisson Zhao in the preparation of this post.
