Field notes from the Canadian border.
Practical playbooks and case studies from our brokers. No thought-leadership fluff — just the stuff we wish every importer knew before they called us in a panic.
How Carrier Network Shifts Change CBSA Clearance Windows and CAD Filing Patterns
Ocean carriers are permanently routing cargo through secondary Canadian ports instead of mega-hubs. That shift changes CBSA release windows, CAD filing timing, and drayage coordination for Montreal and Halifax importers.
Read article →When Your Freight Forwarder or Broker Folds: What Happens to Your Canadian Import Files
Freight broker and forwarder bankruptcies in Canada leave importers holding incomplete CAD filings, disputed duties, and frozen bonds. Here's what breaks when your service provider disappears mid-clearance.
Read article →Canada–Uruguay CMAA: What a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement Actually Does for Canadian Importers
CBSA signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with Uruguay on June 25, 2026. For most Canadian importers, this is invisible plumbing — but it opens the door to faster risk assessments, fewer exam holds, and cleaner origin verification on MERCOSUR trade if the tariff landscape shifts.
Read article →Carrier ELD Data and CBSA Release: Why Your Manifest Provider Matters at the Border
When a carrier switches ELD platforms mid-contract, the ripple hits Canadian customs brokers first. Missing ACE/ACI manifest numbers, mismatched seal codes, and late eManifest transmissions can stall release prior to payment and trigger CBSA verification holds that no one anticipated.
Read article →CFIA Rollout: New Türkiye Egg Certificate (FA1077) and What It Means for Your Export Paperwork Stack
CFIA just published a new fillable veterinary health certificate for processed egg exports to Türkiye—FA1077, effective immediately. If you're an importer working inbound with Turkish partners or running a two-way trade program, here's what changed and why the certificate itself now controls more than the commodity code.
Read article →D11-4-4 just got updated — what changed for GPT and LDCT claims
CBSA reissued the GPT and LDCT origin D-memo June 25. Most of it is old rope, but the shipping-requirement language tightened and the proof-of-origin threshold now points directly to the Regulations. If you run LDCT volume, read the new version.
Read article →D19-13-2 Update: Firearms, Weapons, and the TI 9898.00.00 Trap Most Brokers Miss
CBSA revised D19-13-2 on importing firearms, weapons, and prohibited devices. The update tightens Criminal Code cross-references and clarifies TI 9898.00.00 scope, which means your release-prior-to-payment workflow stops dead if you miss the EIPA permit or mis-classify a replica device as a toy.
Read article →Electric yard trucks, domestic resale, and the CBSA questions you still need to answer
A milestone delivery of electric terminal trucks into Canada reminds brokers that capital equipment classified as HS 8704 or 8709 can carry very different duty rates, CUSMA origin exposure, and post-import resale reporting obligations under CBSA verification programs.
Read article →Fourth Tranche of U.S. Surtax Remission: What Changed June 22, 2026
The Department of Finance amended the United States Surtax Remission Order on June 22, adding products to schedules 2, 3, 4, and 4.1. If you filed CADs using the old schedule assumptions between June 22 and publication, you may need to adjust post-release or check if your client qualifies for relief they didn't claim.
Read article →Port of Brownsville ship channel deepening and what it means for Canadian importers routing Mexico-origin goods
Port of Brownsville just wrapped a $295M channel deepening that brings larger vessels closer to Mexican supply chains. For Canadian importers claiming CUSMA origin on goods manufactured or consolidated in Mexico, the routing shift changes lead times, carrier options, and CBSA verification risk profiles on inbound CADs.
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