President Trump signed three proclamations on July 20 adding a 50% tariff on Canadian dairy, alcohol, and motor vehicles, under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. It's the first time any president has used that authority. The new duty takes effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on August 19 and applies on top of the existing 25% Section 232 auto tariff, with no exemption for vehicles that qualify under the CUSMA trade agreement.
That's a lot of legal language for one plain fact: several popular models Americans buy used every day are assembled in Ontario, and the vehicles built there after August 19 get more expensive to bring across the border.
What Changes on August 19
Before this proclamation, a Canadian-built vehicle entering the US paid the 25% Section 232 auto duty, the same rate applied to most other countries without a separate trade deal. CUSMA compliance didn't exempt autos from that 25%, but it kept Canada in line with Mexico and out of the harsher unilateral rates some other countries faced.
The new 50% Section 338 tariff stacks on top of the 25% that's already there, and it applies regardless of CUSMA status. Trade attorneys tracking the proclamations note the tariffs apply "in addition to all other applicable tariffs, taxes, fees and charges." For a Canadian-assembled vehicle, that's a meaningfully higher landed cost than a comparable model built in the US or Mexico.
This hits new vehicles at import, not used ones already on dealer lots or in private hands. Nothing changes for a used RAV4 someone already owns. What changes is the cost of building the next one.
Which Used Models Trace Back to Ontario
A handful of high-volume models used-car shoppers already cross-shop are assembled at Canadian plants. Per CarScout's August 9 snapshot, here's what current used inventory and pricing look like for the 2023 model year on four of them, plus the newest Dodge Charger generation:
| Model | Canadian Plant | Used Listings (2023 MY) | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 | Cambridge/Woodstock, ON | 2,925 | $11,980 to $52,197 |
| Honda Civic | Alliston, ON | 1,990 | $13,991 to $50,494 |
| Chrysler Pacifica | Windsor, ON | 2,814 | $12,961 to $63,500 |
| Lexus NX | Cambridge, ON | 265 | $23,900 to $51,990 |
| Dodge Charger (2025 MY) | Windsor, ON | 224 | $28,380 to $75,097 |
The Honda CR-V is a partial case worth flagging separately: it's built across three plants, Alliston, Ontario plus East Liberty, Ohio and Greensburg, Indiana, so exposure depends on where a specific unit came from rather than the model as a whole.
Stellantis had already paused part of its 2026 Charger Daytona production at Windsor over tariff uncertainty before this proclamation landed, a sign of how sensitive that plant's output has become to trade policy swings.
Why Used Buyers Should Care Anyway
A new-vehicle tariff doesn't directly touch a used listing, but it changes what a new one costs, and that reshapes who shops used. When new RAV4s, Civics, and Pacificas get more expensive to import, some share of would-be new-car buyers shift toward the used market for the same nameplate instead of paying up. That added demand, without added used supply, tends to firm up pricing on the affected models rather than drop it.
The 25% EU auto tariff cut to 15% in July showed the same mechanism running the other direction: cheaper new European imports took some of the urgency out of buying used, and used luxury prices softened. A 50% jump the other way points toward the opposite outcome for RAV4, Civic, and Pacifica shoppers over the months ahead.
Section 338 tariffs on Canadian vehicles add 50% on top of the existing 25% Section 232 duty, with no carve-out for CUSMA-compliant vehicles, effective August 19, 2026. It's the first presidential use of Section 338 authority. The tariff applies to newly imported vehicles, not to used cars already in the US market.
FAQ
Does the new tariff affect a used car I buy today? No. Tariffs are collected when a vehicle crosses the border as an import, so a used RAV4 or Civic already titled in the US isn't retroactively taxed. The tariff raises the cost of vehicles built in Canada and imported after August 19, which can push used demand and pricing for the same models over time.
Is every Honda CR-V affected? Not necessarily. Honda builds the CR-V at three North American plants: Alliston, Ontario, plus East Liberty, Ohio and Greensburg, Indiana. Only units assembled at the Ontario plant and imported after August 19 carry the new duty; CR-Vs built in Ohio or Indiana aren't affected by this tariff at all.
Will this make used Toyota RAV4 prices go up right away? Not immediately. The tariff affects new-vehicle import costs starting August 19. Any pass-through to used RAV4 pricing would show up gradually, as new-vehicle sticker increases push some buyers toward the used market for the same model.
If you're watching how this plays out on a specific model, CarScout tracks weekly used pricing and inventory by year and trim at /market/toyota/rav4, including the Ontario-built RAV4's current listing counts and price range.