Changes to anti-dumping duties on steel fasteners from China and Taiwan

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on September 23, 2011 the conclusion of its re-investigation of the normal values and export prices of certain carbon steel fasteners from China and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan).

The re-investigation was initiated on April 28, 2011 as part of the CBSA's enforcement of the January 2005 finding made by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, which resulted in the assessment of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the subject goods.

The normal values established under the re-investigation will be effective for subject goods released from the CBSA on or after September 23, 2011. The previous normal values will apply to importations of subject goods that have cleared the CBSA prior to September 23, 2011.

In its announcement CBSA reminded importers that it is their responsibility to calculate and declare their anti-dumping duty liability. When importers are using the services of a customs broker to clear importations, the brokerage firm should be advised that the goods are subject to anti-dumping measures and be provided with sufficient information necessary to clear the shipments.

For additional information please see the CBSA's notice of Conclusion of Reinvestigation.

Technical documents

Government memorandums, notices and decisions.


This page lists newly published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions. Clicking on a title will open the document (in a new window) as published by the relevant department or agency on its own Web site.

Canada Border Services Agency

• SIMA - Certain pup joints from China. Statement of reasons.
• SIMA - Certain carbon steel fasteners from China and Chinese Taipei. Notice of conclusion of re-investigation to update the normal values and export prices.
• Goods subject to anti-dumping or countervailing duties. Measures in Force. Last reviewed September 23, 2011.

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

• EICB Imports: Textiles and clothing - NAFTA Tariff Preference Level Utilization. Updated September 26.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

• Suspended and Cancelled Organic Certifications.
• Veterinary Biologics Memorandum 2011-03 Information requirements for addition of package inserts at Canadian veterinary biologics importer facilities

Health Canada

• New Tobacco Labelling Regulations. Tobacco manufacturers and importers have been given until March 21, 2012 to transition to new labels
• Canada Consumer Product Safety Act October webinar for Industry (Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors, and Retailers) "Mandatory Reporting of an Incident" and "Preparing and Maintaining Documents".

CITES

• CITES extends trade controls to 91 precious hardwood species from Madagascar and Panama. To curb the increase in illegal timber trade by enabling verification of legal origin under CITES standards.

European Union

• Controlling dual-use exports. The European Parliament revised EU rules on exports of products that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, such as chemicals, telecoms devices or software, in a vote on Tuesday.

United States

• États-Unis - Anglais - U.S. CBP CSMS# 11-000228 - HSU '1106' Changes to the 2011 Harmonized Tariff Schedule
• États-Unis - Anglais - U.S. CBP - Fibers & Yarns Construction and Classification Under the HTSUS (pdf) New/updated informed compliance publication.

NAFTA countries join forces to strengthen consumer product safety

Citing their common goal of strengthening the protections for children and consumers throughout North America, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Health Canada, and the Consumer Protection Federal Agency of the United Mexican States (Profeco) concluded a first-of-its-kind consumer product safety Summit this week in Maryland.

The three federal agencies with jurisdiction over consumer products in the United States, Canada, and Mexico issued a joint statement (pdf) promoting greater cooperation and engagement in ensuring the safety of products made and sold across the NAFTA territory.
According to the U.S. Trade Representative, the increasing volume of global trade and the complexity of global supply chains require cooperation among consumer product safety authorities.

The organizations agreed to explore further opportunities for collaboration in the following six areas:

• consultation on proposed regulations and voluntary standards,
• cooperation on risk assessment,
• cooperation on import and market surveillance,
• cooperation on training and outreach within and outside North America,
• coordinated consumer awareness campaigns, and
• consultation on potential joint recalls or corrective actions.

"If products can be regulated in a harmonized manner and emerging hazards can be addressed swiftly, then consumers in all three countries can benefit", said U.S. CPSC's Chairman Inez Tenenbaum.

"Having real intelligence to identify product safety risks is vital to reassure the consumers of our countries that we have secure borders, and companies that are committed to the consumer," said Profeco's Federal Consumer Attorney, Bernardo Altamirano Rodríguez.

Chairman Tenenbaum also noted that the Summit serves as a practical demonstration of support for the principles behind President Obama's Regulatory Cooperation Council initiatives between the United States and Canada and the United States and Mexico.

Freight traffic on Canadian railways increased 4.3% in July

Total rail freight traffic in Canada rose to 25.8 million tonnes in July, up 4.3% from July 2010, according to Statistics Canada.

The federal agency reports that, on the domestic front, the Canadian railway industry's network of mainline, regional and shortline carriers saw their combined non-intermodal and intermodal freight loadings rise to 22.7 million tonnes in July, up 2.0% compared with the same month a year earlier.

Intermodal freight loadings edged up 0.6% from a year earlier to 2.3 million tonnes in July. The gain was the result of a rise in containerized cargo shipments.

Non-intermodal freight loadings rose 2.2% from July 2010 to 20.4 million tonnes. The increase was the result of gains in more than half of the commodity classifications carried by the railways. The commodity groups that had the largest increases in tonnage were lumber, potash and wood pulp.

Several commodity groups registered decreases in July. Those that had the largest drops in tonnage were iron ores and concentrates, coal, and sand, gravel and crushed stone.
Internationally, total rail freight traffic received from the United States rose 24.7% to 3.0 million tonnes in July from July 2010. The increase occurred on the strength of non-intermodal traffic, which advanced 27.2% to 2.9 million tonnes in July.

WTO reduces global trade increase forecast to 5.8%

Economists at the World Trade Organization (WTO) revised their 2011 global trade increase forecast to 5.8%, down from their earlier conservative estimate of 6.5%.

Since the original forecast for 2011 was issued on April 22, developed economies in particular have been buffeted by strong headwinds, including the lingering effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the prolonged budget impasse and credit downgrade in the United States, and the ongoing euro area sovereign debt crisis. Disappointing output and employment data have damaged business and consumer confidence and contributed to the recent turmoil in financial markets.

In light of the deteriorating economy, the WTO now expects developed economies exports to rise by 3.7% and their output to go up by 1.5%. Meanwhile, shipments from developing economies are estimated to increase by 8.5% and GDP by 5.9%

The April original forecast was quite cautious about the prospects for trade in 2011, hence the size of this revision is relatively small. The trade impact of the Japanese disaster turned out to be less than we expected, but the drag imposed by turbulent financial markets could end up being larger than anticipated, which leaves the original forecast not too far from the mark.

"The multilateral trading system has been instrumental in maintaining trade openness during the crisis, thereby avoiding even worse outcomes. Members must remain vigilant. This is not the time for go-it-alone measures. This is the time to strengthen and preserve the global trading system so that it keeps performing this vital function in the future." Director General Pascal Lamy said.

CBSA to update values and export prices of aluminum extrusions from China

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced a re-investigation to update the normal values and export prices and amounts of subsidy respecting certain aluminum extrusions originating in or exported from China.

The re-investigation, initiated on Monday, is part of the enforcement of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal's finding of material injury issued on March 17, 2009, which resulted in the assessment of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the subject goods.

It is anticipated that this re-investigation will be concluded on or before February 20, 2012. The new normal values and amounts of subsidy resulting from this re-investigation will be effective for the subject goods released from the CBSA on or after February 20, 2012, or the date of the ruling letter to the exporters, whichever occurs first. Also, at that time, the normal values and amounts of subsidy currently in place will expire.

CBSA reminds importers that new normal values and amounts of subsidy, when issued, may be higher than those currently in effect and that this could result in additional assessments of anti-dumping duty. In addition, the normal values determined on the basis of the re-investigation will be applied to any customs entries of subject goods under appeal that have yet to be re-determined at the time of the conclusion of this re-investigation.

For additional information see the Notice of Re-investigation on CBSA's website.

Technical documents

Government memorandums, notices and decisions.


This page lists newly published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions. Clicking on a title will open the document (in a new window) as published by the relevant department or agency on its own Web site.

Canada Border Services Agency

• SIMA - Certain aluminum extrusions from China. Notice of Re-investigation to update the normal values and export prices, and amounts of subsidy.

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

• EICS Message - October 2011 Softwood Lumber Quotas Now Available.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

• Directive D-97-10 May 18, 2011 (2nd Revision) Policy on Importation into Canada from the United States and movement within Canada of plants and plant parts of Larix spp. and Pseudolarix spp. to prevent the spread of European larch canker. See directive for list of revisions.

Federal Court of Canada

• Docket: A-324-10 Canadian Tire Corporation Limited v. Canada (Border Services Agency). Appeal from CITT decision No. AP-2009-019 Tariff classification of neoprene personal flotation devices (PFDs) for youth.

United States

• U.S. CBP ALERT - Pacific Highway Crossing, Blaine, WA. Due to construction and the replacement of a truck booth at the Pacific Highway cargo crossing, Lane 1 will be temporarily closed from September 19, 2011 to October 17, 2011.
• U.S. CBP Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Northern Border Activities. Notice of availability; Request for comments; Notice of public meetings. [PDF]

Using the correct tariff classification: beyond duties and taxes

Beyond its usual function for determining the rate of duty on imported goods, tariff classification is a crucial component of several additional economic functions.

Canada's Customs Tariff is based on the Harmonized System (HS), the standardized coding system of names and numbers used in international trade. Over 200 countries representing about 98 percent of world trade use the HS as a basis for customs tariffs and the compilation of international trade data and statistics.

The import and export data collected with the HS as a universal basis is used to negotiate trade agreements, maintain trade statistics, and effectively identify goods and shipments that pose a risk to the health, safety and security of Canada.

Accurate HS data is of vital importance to the business community. Because this data is timely and detailed, it is one of the few economic indicators that is of immediate use to businesses. The demand for HS data has increased as a result of changes in the international trading environment, globalization, expanded free trade and widespread tariff reductions.

And, in a more down-to-earth view, non-compliance with the correct classification of goods can result in delays at the time of release of goods, the suspension of privileges, and monetary penalties assessed under the Administrative Monetary Penalty System.

Do not hesitate to contact our offices if you have any question about the classification of your goods.

IATA forecasts poor air freight volumes until the end of the year

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced an upgrading of its industry profit expectations, mostly because passenger demand has been stronger than anticipated given the gloomy economic outlook.

Air freight however has stagnated since the start of the year. IATA slashed its full-year volume growth projection from 5.5% to 1.4%. Airlines are expected to carry 46.4 million tonnes of cargo in 2011 (down from the previous forecast of 48.2 million).

Air freight volumes reached their post-recession peak in May 2010, largely driven by re-stocking. July's traffic was 4% lower than that level. It appears unlikely that a revival in air freight will begin before 2012.

As much as airlines managed to restore passenger load factors back to the 2010 highs (the July global passenger load factor stood at 83.1%) the freight load factor sank to 45.0%.

According to IATA, weaker freight markets will see freight revenue projections for the year fall to $67 billion (down $5 billion compared to the June forecast).

Air Canada reaches a tentative agreement with its flight attendants

Air Canada announced that it has reached a tentative collective agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, representing the airline's approximately 6,800 flight attendants.
The threat of a strike that had been looming over Air Canada has finally dissipated. The deal was made just hours after flight attendants held rallies in cities across the country.

The new labour contract was hammered out after marathon talks that began August 31st. Both sides were assisted by two mediators from the federal Labour Department.

In order to approve the new contract with Air Canada, the union has to submit the tentative agreement to members nationwide. General meetings will be held in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. The consultation process will take at least one week.

Union President Jeff Taylor said, "The union's executive committee will recommend that its members accept this tentative agreement".

Details of the agreement will not be released until ratification by the union, and approval by the Air Canada board of directors.

"The conclusion of a tentative agreement is welcome news for our customers and we want to thank them for their ongoing loyalty and support during this round of contract negotiations. It's business as usual and customers can continue to make their travel plans on Air Canada with confidence," said Susan Welscheid, Senior Vice President, Customer Service.

Ottawa to investigate the dumping and subsidizing of pup joints from China

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) initiated investigations into the alleged injurious dumping and subsidizing of certain pup joints from China. Pup joints are oil country tubular goods made of carbon or alloy steel.

The investigations follow a complaint filed by a producer from Edmonton, Alberta, who alleges that the dumping and subsidizing of these goods are harming Canadian production.

Dumping occurs when goods are sold to importers in Canada at prices that are less than their selling prices in the exporter's domestic market or at unprofitable prices. Subsidizing occurs when goods imported into Canada benefit from foreign government financial assistance.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has begun a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the imports are harming Canadian producers and will issue a decision by November 10, 2011.

While the Tribunal is examining the question of injury, the CBSA will investigate whether the imports are being dumped and/or subsidized, and will make a decision by December 12, 2011.

If the Tribunal determines that an unusually large increase in harmful imports has occurred prior to the CBSA's decision and that the retroactive application of anti-dumping or countervailing duty is therefore justified, duty could be levied on the goods brought into Canada as of September 12, 2011.

Additional information about the investigations can be found on the websites of the CBSA and of the Tribunal.

Steel import monitoring program extended for three more years

The Federal Government issued an order to continue the import monitoring of carbon and specialty steel products for an additional three-year period to August 31, 2014. As a result, imports of carbon steel and specialty steel products will continue to be monitored without interruption.

Canada has had a program to monitor steel imports since 1986. The program, under which steel importers have to obtain import permits, has been renewed for two- or three-year periods from that date. The current regulatory authority for this program was to expire on August 31, 2011.
The elimination of import monitoring would remove an important source of information used extensively by steel producers to track prices, volumes, and origins of steel imports. The Steel Import Surveillance Program aims to provide stakeholders with accurate and timely statistics on imports of steel into Canada.

Most steel import permits are issued automatically online upon application by customs brokers on behalf of importers. Steel imports cannot be cleared by the CBSA without a permit. The importation of steel covered by the import-monitoring system without an import permit issued by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada may lead to prosecution.

A full range of Canadian steel industry stakeholders (i.e. steel producers, importers, service centres and related associations) were consulted and invited to submit views with respect to the prospective renewal of the monitoring program. Renewal is supported by a range of industry stakeholders, including steel producers, and interests representing steel service centres and steel construction.

Air Canada cargo pledges business as usual after flight attendants vote for a strike

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced this week that flight attendants at Air Canada have given their union a strong strike mandate.

Following a vote held between September 4 and September 13, ninety-eight per cent of members of the Air Canada Component of CUPE voted in favour of strike action.

"A strike vote does not mean we will necessarily go on strike, but it means we will strike if we need to. What we want and still hope for is a negotiated deal with the company", says Jeff Taylor, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE.

Air Canada confirmed it is business as usual for the airline and Air Canada Cargo customers can continue to book cargo shipments with confidence, following the announcement of the vote result. CUPE represents approximately 6,800 flight attendants employed by Air Canada.
Talks between Air Canada and CUPE, which resumed September 1, 2011 facilitated by a federally appointed mediator, are ongoing.

In the event an agreement is not reached, the union must serve Air Canada with a minimum 72 hours notice if it intends to proceed with strike action. Should this occur, the airline said it would implement a partial schedule including codeshare flights operated by its partner airlines.

A Canada-EU free trade agreement would boost Atlantic Canada's seafood exports

Federal Cabinet Ministers toured a seafood facility in Halifax and met with workers and business leaders from the area to discuss the benefits a Canada-European Union (EU) trade agreement would bring to Atlantic Canada.

According to Minister of International Trade Ed Fast "the benefits of a Canada-EU trade agreement are expected to be enormous: a 20-percent boost in two-way trade; a $12-billion-annual boost to Canada's economy; and preferential market access for Canadian businesses to the world's largest single common market, foreign investor and trader."

In Atlantic Canada, where fish and seafood is an important export sector to the EU, current tariffs average 11 percent but are as high as 25 percent on some products.

Canada is seeking to completely eliminate tariffs on all fish and seafood products under the agreement. This will lower costs for Canadian firms doing business in the European Union, the largest fish import market in the world, valued in excess of US$24 billion annually.

Customs administrations worldwide asked to look out for smuggled Libyan artifacts

The World Customs Organization's (WCO) Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, called on Customs administrations worldwide to increase their vigilance at borders on cultural artefacts that may be smuggled or exported illegally from Libya by criminals and other unscrupulous persons using the current political situation in the country as a cover.

"The protection of national cultural property from being illicitly smuggled across borders is one of the priorities for Customs administrations around the world," said Mr. Mikuriya. "I am appealing to the global Customs community, and especially to those countries neighbouring Libya, to be extremely vigilant at borders as Libya's cultural heritage could be at risk," Mikuriya added.

Current turmoil and political instability in Libya is threatening and endangering the country's vast cultural heritage. This situation is a cause for deep concern since the risk of smuggling valuable artefacts out of Libya is extremely high at the moment.

The WCO's concerns are shared by UNESCO, the world's international body for overseeing, protecting and promoting cultural heritage. Irina Bokova, UNESCO's Director-General, recently called on all parties to protect Libyan cultural heritage and avoid any illicit traffic taking place that would deprive the Libyan people of their precious cultural heritage.

Although the situation is still evolving in Libya, the WCO is ready to support its international partners in any initiative aimed at protecting Libya's rich cultural heritage which stands out as a testament to the past and deserves every level of protection for future generations.
Each cultural object leaving Libya should be accompanied by a certificate attesting that the exportation was legal. In the absence of a certificate, the importation is to be considered as illicit and investigated accordingly.

Technical documents: Government memorandums, notices and decisions

This page lists newly published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions. Clicking on a title will open the document (in a new window) as published by the relevant department or agency on its own Web site.

Canada Border Services Agency

• CBSA investigates the dumping and subsidizing of certain pup joints from China. Pup joints are oil country tubular goods made of carbon or alloy steel.
• CBSA Today: Commercial News for Stakeholders Issue No. 1, Summer 2011
• Customs Notice CN11-016 Mandatory HS Codes – Criteria for Use of the "Zero-Class Code".
• CBSA 24/7 contact information for all border offices (doc)

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

• EICB Imports: Textiles and clothing - NAFTA Tariff Preference Level Utilization. Updated September 12.
• Import Control List - Order Amending. To ensure that import monitoring of carbon and specialty steel products is renewed for an additional three-year period.
• Implementing the United Nations Resolution on Libya and Taking Special Economic Measures - Regulations Amending the Regulations.
• Special Economic Measures (Libya) Permit Authorization Order - Order Repealing.

Canadian International Trade Tribunal

• Preliminary Injury Inquiry No. PI-2011-001 Pup joints from China.
• Appeal No. AP-2010-055 Tyco Safety Products Canada, Ltd. (formerly Digital Security Controls Ltd.). Classification of of video-based security systems.

World Customs Organization

• Amendments to HS-related WCO recommendations. The Council, at its 117th/118th Sessions in June 2011, adopted amendments to the six Harmonized System related Council Recommendations mentioned below.
• Additional consequential amendments following the HS 2012 amendments.

International Chamber of Commerce

• ICC launches new rules of arbitration. ICC has launched a much-anticipated revised version of its Rules of arbitration for businesses and governments engaged in international commerce and investment.
• New marketing code raises consumer protection standards around the world. Consolidated ICC Marketing Code has new protection for Internet users and detailed standards for marketers selling to them.

United States

• USDA COOL Retail Compliance Data (pdf) Findings of non-compliances cited during the past two years.
• USDA Questions and Answers: Heat Treatment Requirements for Canadian Firewood (pdf) Plant Protection and Quarantine September 2011.
• U.S. CBP CSMS# 11-000212 - HSU 1105 Changes to the 2011 Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
• U.S. CBP CSMS# 11-000211 - FDA Import Entry Review Process - Affirmations of Compliance.
• U.S. CBP CSMS# 11-000210 - FDA Product Codes for Industry Group 40.
• USTR Request for Comments: Two-Year Extension of Softwood Lumber Agreement. The U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement is currently scheduled to expire on October 12, 2013. [PDF]