http://www.aacb.com/Bringing Cross-Border Opportunities to You. Business Without Borders.en-usafan@aacb.com?2005 A & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd.Sat, 4 Feb 2012 4:00:58 PDThttp://www.aacb.com/images/PoweredByAA.gifhttp://www.aacb.com15546Fri, 3 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5046http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5046
Border services officers walked off the job at the Detroit tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge on Wednesday afternoon demanding the Canada Border Services Agency fix flaws in the policies stipulating how officers are to deal with people considered armed and dangerous. More at the Windsor Star

http://www.windsorstar.com/travel/Border+officers+walk+over+safety+concerns/6088652/story.html

Source: CIFFA Website News]]>Fri, 3 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5047http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5047
We would like to draw your attention to the customs notice recently issued by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) regarding its mandatory export reporting policy. Customs Notice 12-001 is available at http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn12-001-eng.html.

As of April 1, 2012, CBSA will be taking steps to eliminate the manual reporting form. CBSA is currently working on the necessary regulatory changes to mandate electronic reporting of exports, which are anticipated by December 2014.

Paper-based summary reporting will remain. However, CBSA is requiring companies to re-apply to continue to use summary reporting in order to ensure that only those companies that qualify under the current eligibility criteria are using the program. A new reporting form has also been developed. In a future phase, CBSA will revise the eligibility criteria for participation in the summary reporting program. This will require regulatory changes, which are also anticipated by December 2014.

For further information, please refer to the attached presentation to the Border Commercial Consultative Committee meeting from October 2011.

Lorraine Cartier, Senior Program Advisor, Export Process Division, Canada Border Services Agency will address this topic at the upcoming Western Regional Conference in Calgary on February 27-28th and it will also be included on the agenda at our regional conferences in Toronto and Montreal.

Any members with feedback or concerns regarding the changes are urged to contact the Association.

Regards,

Amanda

Source: I E Canada News]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5045http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5045
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal today initiated an inquiry respecting the dumping and subsidizing of stainless steel sinks with a single drawn bowl having a volume between 1,600 and 5,000 cubic inches (26,219.30 and 81,935.32 cubic centimetres) or with multiple drawn bowls having a combined volume between 2,200 and 6,800 cubic inches (36,051.54 and 111,432.04 cubic centimetres), excluding sinks fabricated by hand, originating in or exported from the People?s Republic of China. The final injury inquiry was initiated further to a notice received from the Canada Border Services Agency stating that preliminary determinations had been made respecting the dumping and subsidizing of the above-mentioned stainless steel sinks.

This release is available in its entirety at:

http://www.citt.gc.ca/press/nq2l002_e.asp

Source: CSCB Website News]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5043http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5043
"For 60 years, the WCO has encouraged its member organizations to come together in pursuit of solutions to the challenges of international security and global economic stability," said Luc Portelance, President of the CBSA. "It's a history that should inspire everyone in the greater customs community, and a legacy that helps define the vital work we do at the CBSA."

In 2011, the CBSA handled more than 13.5 million commercial releases, helping keep cross-border trade strong and robust. On the enforcement side, the CBSA made over ten thousand drug seizures, taking almost $1.7 billion worth of illegal drugs off our streets. The CBSA accomplished all of this and more while processing over 96 million travellers. The Agency effected over 15,000 removals from Canada. The CBSA also launched the successful "Most Wanted" by the CBSA list resulting in the apprehension of 19 individuals and the removal of nine from Canada. These actions highlight the role of the CBSA in keeping Canada's borders safe and secure.

The day may be marked in different ways throughout the CBSA, but the message stays the same. CBSA employees do valuable work, perform an important public service and their dedication is truly appreciated.

Source: Canada Border Services Agency]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5044http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5044
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5146-eng.html

Source: CIFFA Website News]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5042http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5042
In the coming months, the CBSA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will be providing more information on the new ISPM 15 requirements. They encourage you to start sourcing supplies of ISPM 15-compliant WPM to ensure shipments are compliant once full implementation and enforcement activities commence. For more information, please visit the CBSA Web site at: http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/wp-meb-eng.html

Source: CIFFA Website News]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5041http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5041
January 23, 2012 - The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk today signed a two-year extension to the 2006 Canada-United States Softwood Lumber Agreement. The extension secures Canadian softwood lumber access to the U.S. market until 2015.

?The extension of the Softwood Lumber Agreement is great news for Canadian lumber workers and their families,? said Minister Fast. ?This extension agreement will bring much-needed stability and predictability to the lumber industry. By extending the agreement, we are sending a clear message that our government is committed to securing predictable access to the U.S. market and strengthening the financial security of Canadians.?

The 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement, which returned over $5 billion to Canadian exporters at a time when they needed it most, was set to expire on October 12, 2013. Canada and the United States have negotiated an agreement to extend it without modification and will consult on whether a further extension would be appropriate before the new expiration date in 2015. Canada has consulted widely with provincial and industry stakeholders, and they strongly support the extension to 2015.

?With one in five Canadian jobs generated by trade, our government is strongly committed to helping the forestry sector, and other sectors of our economy, expand and succeed in markets around the world,? said Minister Fast. ?That?s why we?ll continue standing up for our exporters in markets around the world, including the United States?fighting for their interests and opening doors to new opportunities that will create jobs and prosperity in communities across Canada.?

The agreement to extend the Softwood Lumber Agreement constitutes a treaty under international law. Consistent with Government of Canada policy, the treaty will be tabled in the House of Commons for a period of 21 sitting days. It will come into force once Canada and the United States have notified each other that their respective ratification processes have been completed.

For more information on the Softwood Lumber Agreement, please consult Softwood Lumber.

Source: CSCB Website News]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5040http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5040
The U.S. and Canada are expected to change the requirements for wood pallets transporting goods between the two countries. Industry officials said the change will add costs for shippers and may stress supplies for shippers in both countries not already using heat-treated ISPM15 compliant pallets.

The proposed regulation on the requirements for wood packaging materials imported from Canada was published in December 2010, but the final rule has not yet been issued. The proposed rule eliminates an exemption allowing wood packaging material from Canada to enter the U.S. without first meeting the treatment and marking requirements required of wood packaging from all other countries. According to the proposal, removing the exemption is necessary to prevent invasive pests from entering the U.S.

?It was supposed to start last year, but the regulation did not get published and that?s why everything is on hold,? said Edgar Deomano, technical director for the National Wood Pallet and Container Association. Deomano said Canada is ready to enforce the regulation but is waiting for an agreement with the U.S. so the two countries can begin enforcement at the same time, he said.

An official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service did not return calls seeking comment on the issue.

The proposed regulation sparked opposition from the Washington, D.C.-based Grocery Manufacturing Association. In a Feb. 1, 2011, letter to the USDA, GMA general counsel James Skiles said the proposed rule will be costly, stating that estimates suggest total costs of implementing the regulation will exceed $100 million annually. ?The proposed changes will add significant costs to the U.S. supply chain for food and consumer goods which are dependent upon the use of pallets for packaging and transport,? he said in the letter to the USDA.

What?s more, Skiles said the exemption granted for U.S. and Canada pallets was scientifically sound. ?The risk of non-native invasive species being introduced between the regions was initially deemed insignificant and still does not pose a large threat from pallets given that the two regions still share significant areas of land and forests where any existing pests would be able to move and spread freely in a natural setting,? he said.

Deomano said he doesn?t believe the proposed requirement, when it becomes final, will create a big shortage of ISPM15-compliant pallets. ?Here in the U.S., a lot of pallet companies are already doing it for their customers,? he said. ?Shippers will just have to make sure they transport something from the U.S. to Canada that (the pallets) are treated and marked.?

Costs will be on average about $1 higher for the treated and marked pallets, he said. Currently, recycled pallets costs between $3 and $6 for a 48-inch by 40-inch pallet. A new pallet can cost between $8 and $20, depending on how the pallet is built.

Deomano said wood pallets have about a 90% market share in the U.S., though pallets made of plastic and other materials is steadily growing.

Gary Sharon, vice president of Litco International, Vienna, Ohio, said the company?s presswood pallets are already ISPM15 compliant and approved for export anywhere in the world.

Sharon said there may not be enough heat-treating capability to satisfy the movement of pallets between the U.S. and Canada. Excluding Canada, there are about 60 to 70 million heat-treated pallets that leave the U.S. annually for export, with about 90% of those pallets conventional wood and the other 10% are plastic or pressed wood. However, movement of pallets to Canada is in the 300 million pallet per year range. ?You can see the amount of stress it is going to create for the capacity to (treat) these quick enough,? Sharon said.

Source: I E Canada Website News]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5039http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5039
The Conservative government is promising to ease the headaches of dealing with official Ottawa, with a pledge that any new regulation will be tied to an old regulation that will come off the books.

That is the most immediate action the Conservative government plans to take in response to a new report by a federal Red Tape Reduction Commission, chaired by Maxime Bernier, the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism. Mr. Bernier and Treasury Board President Tony Clement released the report at a rural cabinet shop in the southeast end of Ottawa.

In December, the commission released an interim paper called ?What Was Heard? that included extensive verbatim complaints and frustrations from Canadians about dealing with Ottawa. The comments covered everything from HST rules to the time and effort needed to apply for government programs like retrofit incentives to ?the absolutely ridiculous? requirement to hang on to paperwork for seven years in case of an audit.

Ottawa is currently responsible for about 2,600 federal regulations.

In addition to the so-called ?one for one rule? ? which would be overseen by the Auditor-General ? the report recommends that bonuses in the public service be tied to their success in eliminating regulations. Mr. Bernier is billing these as the two most important recommendations in the report, which also includes a further 13 long-term recommendations and 90 specific short term ?solutions.?

Mr. Clement said the report?s recommendations fit well with Canada?s recent border deal with the United States, which calls for less cross-border red tape via the Canada-U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council. In fact, some of the recommendations ? such as expanded pre-clearance of commercial border traffic ? are identical to those recently announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama. Mr. Clement pledged the government will act on the ?one for one? rule, which was part of the Conservative election platform.

Some consumer groups ? such as the Canadian Health Coalition ? have expressed concern that cutting red tape could lead to weaker consumer protection in areas like food safety. However business groups such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business argue many regulations involve duplication and can be eliminated without compromising health and safety standards. They also argue that reducing the cost of dealing with government will create jobs as businesses free up time and money that would have otherwise gone toward complying with federal rules.

Among the report?s specific recommendations is a call for a ?broad legislative and regulatory renewal? of Canada?s food inspection regime, including harmonizing Canada?s sanitary standards for dairy products with the United States.

Canada?s hemp producers are singled out as needing support, as the report calls on Health Canada to ?increase predictability, timeliness and transparency of the hemp licence application and approval process.? Health Canada is also urged to ?update its guidance to stakeholders regarding pre-market review of health claims on food.?

A common recommendation in the report for departments is to move away from paper forms in favour of electronic applications.

In an interview, Mr. Bernier insisted his report?s recommendations will not affect consumer safety. ?We won?t abolish regulations on safety for Canadians,? he said. ?We want to cut inefficient, useless regulations.?

Source: I E Canada Website News]]>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5038http://www.aacb.com/news/press.asp?id=5038
Le texte français suit le texte anglais.

The Department of Finance is currently reviewing a request for the removal of the customs duties on imports of oils and preparations thereof, having a viscosity of 7.44 mm2/sec or more at 37.80C. These goods are classified under tariff item Nos. 2710.19.91 and 2710.20.10 of the Customs Tariff, dutiable at 5% under the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) Tariff, with a Free rate available under the General Preferential Tariff (GPT). Three specific oils at issue are Vacuum Gas Oil, Fuel Oil No. 5 and Fuel Oil No 6, which were previously duty-free, but became subject to the 5% MFN rate in 2011 pursuant to a confirmation that they were of a viscosity of 7.44mm2/sec. or more at 37.8oC. Vacuum gas oil is used as a feedstock for production of gasoline and diesel components, while the two fuel oils are used as fuel in various refinery operations.

The applicants for duty elimination claim that these oils are not available from Canadian production in sufficient quantities and that tariff relief would enhance their competitiveness in both the domestic and export markets.

If you have an interest in this request, or are aware of others who could potentially be affected by such action, I would appreciate receiving your views by February 14, 2012.

Paul Robichaud Tariffs and Market Access, International Trade Policy Division Department of Finance 14th Floor, East Tower, 140 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G5 Phone: (613) 992-2510 Fax: (613) 992-6761 e-mail: Paul.Robichaud@fin.gc.ca

Source: I E Canada Website News ]]>