Payment of Canadian antidumping and countervailing duties will continue to be required, though the due date will be extended, the Canada Border Services Agency said in an April 6 email. "Duties applied under the Special Import Measures Act will remain in force and continue to be assessed, but with payment due on June 30, the new timeframe," it said. "Importers are expected to continue accurately self-assessing the amounts owing on imported goods, including SIMA duties. Imports continue to be monitored by the CBSA for compliance." The CBSA recently extended the due date for regular customs duties to June 30 (see 2003270053).
The Canada Border Services Agency issued some guidances on the regulatory changes that are coming as part of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (see 2004030046), which is known as the CUSMA in Canada. Customs notice 20-14 covers implementation of the agreement, including tariff provisions, advanced rulings and proof of origin. Customs notice 20-13 gives an overview of the new definition for specially defined mixtures under the agreement. Among other things, “the new SDM definition now has a cooking requirement, goods must be par-fried, partially or fully cooked,” it said. “The definition will also change what is to be considered as part of the 13% other goods. Sauces are now excluded from the 13% calculation and bread, such as sandwich bread, can now be included in the 13% calculation.” Further information will come in a CBSA memo, it said. Customs notice 20-15 covers the change to Canada's de minimis threshold for low-value goods. “Effective on the day of coming into force of CUSMA, the CBSA will increase its Low Value Shipment (LVS) thresholds for all commercial importations (in addition to those for express shipments) to an estimated value for duty not exceeding CAD$3,300,” it said.
President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to try to claim more 3M masks for U.S. workers, made in the U.S. or in China. The company issued a statement April 3 that said: “In the course of our collaboration with the Administration this past weekend, the Administration requested that 3M increase the amount of respirators we currently import from our overseas operations into the U.S. We appreciate the assistance of the Administration to do exactly that. For example, earlier this week, we secured approval from China to export to the U.S. 10 million N95 respirators manufactured by 3M in China.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of March 30 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Canada Border Services Agency should suspend customs liability during the period of deferred customs duties, the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers said in an announcement posted on the Farrow blog. “These are unprecedented times, and the normal and beneficial business practices that underpin the customs broker-client financial relationship now have the potential to negatively impact the intended positive effects of deferral,” it said. “For example, brokers who hold release prior to payment security on behalf of importers may require deposits or payments to mitigate their financial risk.” The CSCB “also requested that there be no claims against importer bonds during this time,” it said. “We believe this gives importers the best chance of benefiting from the government’s decision on deferral in the next three months and beyond, supporting their viability. It also supports customs brokers and the valuable services they provide not only in the context of the accounting and payment process, but for release of goods at a time when trade facilitation is critical to recovery.”
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of March 30 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of March 27 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Canadian and Mexican politicians are sending different messages to their countries' journalists about how quickly the uniform regulations can be completed for the new NAFTA, now known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. A Canadian politician and a labor leader told a Canadian newspaper that a June 1 date of entry into force is unlikely, given how much remains to be done to be ready, and especially with the disruption caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of March 25 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Canada Border Services Agency is again postponing the sunset date for legacy release options as part of the Single Window Initiative and Integrated Import Declaration transition, the agency said in a March 24 customs notice. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CBSA will be postponing the decommissioning of the legacy [other government departments] release service options until a date later to be determined,” it said. “Clients that have on-boarded to the SWI IID (SO911) but continue to use the legacy OGD release service options (SO463 and SO471) may experience delays in the processing of their shipment. As such, clients that have completed the on-boarding process are encouraged to utilize the SWI IID (SO911) for all OGD release requests.”