Importing Rivian to Canada from USA - Tariff Questions

[LDC]

Hi all, I'm American and just moved from the U.S. to Calgary—and (of course!) want to bring my Rivian R1S with me. But things are a bit complicated due to the current tariff situation.

I’m in Canada as a temporary resident (on a work permit), but I plan to stay long term and apply for permanent residency. My Rivian is being shipped from the U.S., and I’ve been told by the car shipping company that if I “fully import” the vehicle, I’ll be hit with both the 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S.-made vehicles and 5% GST— this would be nearly 30% of the car’s value, which is prohibitively expensive.

Here’s my current plan—and I’d love your opinions or experiences:

1. Temporarily use the Rivian in Calgary
I plan to drive the R1S here with my U.S. plates while I’m still a temporary resident. As I understand it, I can do this under a temporary import exemption (with no tariff) as long as I remain a temporary resident.
Once I become a permanent resident (which may happen in about a year), I’d either have to:

• Pay the 25% tariff + GST to keep the car here permanently, or
• Take the vehicle back to the U.S.

I'm hoping the tariffs will be lifted by then, but who knows.

2. If the tariff is still in place once I get PR, my options would be:

• Ship the car back to the U.S. and park it until the trade policy changes
• Sell it in the U.S. and buy a new Rivian in Canada (assuming Rivian models here are USMCA-compliant and don't have prohibitive tariffs)
• Lease or buy a non-American vehicle in Canada

Side note: I have the yellow R1S, which I love—and that color has been discontinued, so I really want to keep it if I can. Or perhaps I could buy a used yellow R1S in Canada.

3. Is there any way to prove my current R1S is USMCA-compliant?
If Rivian could provide documentation showing my specific vehicle qualifies under USMCA rules of origin, could that potentially exempt me from the 25% tariff if I go to fully import it later?

I would appreciate any advice, personal experience, or info you can share!

Sponsored

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Unfortunately I don’t think a single person can tell you what is going to happen with the tariffs, including the guy responsible for them. With how these have been implemented shows that it’s anyone’s guess what the future holds. I think your plan of using the truck with the US plates is a solid plan and that’s what I’d do for now.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

Unfortunately under the current economic circumstances, it looks like you'll be suject to the 25% tariff in addition to the 5% GST.



I would either hold off on fully importing it and just bring it up temporarily and wait for this to settle down before you go through the whole import process.

 

[mkg3]

If one brings a vehicle already owned and driven for some time into Canada from US, the person has to pay tariff and GST?

I get that if this is a new purchase, then it would fall under these tariff and GST requirements for Canadian resident to import a purchased vehicle from US.

If the case is that he owes tariff and GST, is it the current market value based or purchased price, since the vehicle is few years old (Compass Yellow)?

It is up to the Canadian government at the end of the day. Regardless of what US tariff is, since it's going in the opposite direction. US does not have export tariff currently on autos. The Canadian import tariff will likely match US's but that's a choice Canada makes.

If one looks at the UK agreement and hear what the WH is saying, the minimum tariff on goods coming into US is 10% so if Canada comes to an agreement, probably 10%+GST or total of 15% - half of OP's scenario.

 

[DuoRivian]

If one brings a vehicle already owned and driven for some time into Canada from US, the person has to pay tariff and GST?

I get that if this is a new purchase, then it would fall under these tariff and GST requirements for Canadian resident to import a purchased vehicle from US.

If the case is that he owes tariff and GST, is it the current market value based or purchased price, since the vehicle is few years old (Compass Yellow)?

It is up to the Canadian government at the end of the day. Regardless of what US tariff is, since it's going in the opposite direction. US does not have export tariff currently on autos. The Canadian import tariff will likely match US's but that's a choice Canada makes.

If one looks at the UK agreement and hear what the WH is saying, the minimum tariff on goods coming into US is 10% so if Canada comes to an agreement, probably 10%+GST or total of 15% - half of OP's scenario.

I agree I would be surprised if Canadian tariffs on US vehicles extend to existing and not new vehicles. Maybe your new PM could do something about this for you!

 

[Ken E.]

Until last night, your temporary status solution seemed best. But last a federal judge froze the Trump "reciprocal" tariff because it was implemented illegally. If Canada calls off its reciprocal tariff in response, you may have a window, in which case it could make sense to import it. On the other hand, it's unclear that Canada will lift its reciprocal tariff given inconsistency on the US side.

 

[mkg3]

Until last night, your temporary status solution seemed best. But last a federal judge froze the Trump "reciprocal" tariff because it was implemented illegally. If Canada calls off its reciprocal tariff in response, you may have a window, in which case it could make sense to import it. On the other hand, it's unclear that Canada will lift its reciprocal tariff given inconsistency on the US side.

Since the judge's decision is being appealed, I wouldn't rely on that....

 

[mrose]

Until last night, your temporary status solution seemed best. But last a federal judge froze the Trump "reciprocal" tariff because it was implemented illegally. If Canada calls off its reciprocal tariff in response, you may have a window, in which case it could make sense to import it. On the other hand, it's unclear that Canada will lift its reciprocal tariff given inconsistency on the US side.

Amazing how one man can ruin the whole worlds economy like this, so sad

 

[mmcdonald]

Drive it over the boarder as a temp solution and just wait. Consult Canadian Motor Vehicle Registry. Tariff carp will go away at some point

 

[OilfieldR1T]

I would confirm with Rivian that the warranty will transfer if you register your vehicle in Canada.

I looked into selling my R1T in the US and multiple brokers told me they weren’t interested because the warranty wouldn’t transfer to the US, apparently a few manufacturers are starting to void warranties on vehicles that get exported.

I ended up selling it in Canada so I didn’t look into it any further and it could be BS but it’s another reason to leave it registered in the US if it’s true.

 

[Ken E.]

Since the judge's decision is being appealed, I wouldn't rely on that....

Yes. Of course. Point is, however, to be on the lookout for a window during this dynamic situation.

 

[TyeeMike]

I dont see how you are actually importing the vehicle if you already own it....

 

[SSteveEV]

All I can add is that if you have brought it in temporarily you likely need to bring it back to the USA for 72+ hours before importing it to be registered with Canada.
(I have no personal knowledge of that other than I'll be storing a car stateside for 72 hours for a friend next week and I trust his research. Though it may be that for them that was the easiest of multiple options)

 

[SANZC02]

Hi all, I'm American and just moved from the U.S. to Calgary—and (of course!) want to bring my Rivian R1S with me. But things are a bit complicated due to the current tariff situation.

I’m in Canada as a temporary resident (on a work permit), but I plan to stay long term and apply for permanent residency. My Rivian is being shipped from the U.S., and I’ve been told by the car shipping company that if I “fully import” the vehicle, I’ll be hit with both the 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S.-made vehicles and 5% GST— this would be nearly 30% of the car’s value, which is prohibitively expensive.

Here’s my current plan—and I’d love your opinions or experiences:

1. Temporarily use the Rivian in Calgary
I plan to drive the R1S here with my U.S. plates while I’m still a temporary resident. As I understand it, I can do this under a temporary import exemption (with no tariff) as long as I remain a temporary resident.
Once I become a permanent resident (which may happen in about a year), I’d either have to:

• Pay the 25% tariff + GST to keep the car here permanently, or
• Take the vehicle back to the U.S.

I'm hoping the tariffs will be lifted by then, but who knows.

2. If the tariff is still in place once I get PR, my options would be:

• Ship the car back to the U.S. and park it until the trade policy changes
• Sell it in the U.S. and buy a new Rivian in Canada (assuming Rivian models here are USMCA-compliant and don't have prohibitive tariffs)
• Lease or buy a non-American vehicle in Canada

Side note: I have the yellow R1S, which I love—and that color has been discontinued, so I really want to keep it if I can. Or perhaps I could buy a used yellow R1S in Canada.

3. Is there any way to prove my current R1S is USMCA-compliant?
If Rivian could provide documentation showing my specific vehicle qualifies under USMCA rules of origin, could that potentially exempt me from the 25% tariff if I go to fully import it later?

I would appreciate any advice, personal experience, or info you can share!

Here is some information. It says usually not on some fees for personal use from US and Mexico but that was probably before NAFTA was thrown out. The judges ruling on the tariffs will probably be fast tracked for a resolution so we should know about the US tariffs sooner than later but that has no impact on what Canada put on imports from the US as retaliation.

Check registration and insurance laws as well. I know moving to California you only have 20 days before you need to register your vehicle once becoming a resident. Will you get caught maybe not but should something happen it may be more trouble than it would be worth not doing it correctly.

 

[LDC]

I agree I would be surprised if Canadian tariffs on US vehicles extend to existing and not new vehicles. Maybe your new PM could do something about this for you!

unfortunately, the tariffs do apply, even on my own used vehicle that I’m just using myself.

Sponsored