Trade News

Minister of Finance Announces Public Consultations on the Taxation of Corporate Groups The following is a 23 November 2010 news release by Department of Finance. The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today launched public consultations on the taxation of corporate groups to explore whether changes to the tax system can be made to improve its efficiency and to support economic growth.

The following is a CBSA message EDI10-103 (Update – on behalf of CFIA) Please be advised: The problem with slow CFIA decisions of EDI transactions is now RESOLVED.

CBSA officers to get new powers - Crackdown to target smuggling by staff at airports, ports The following is excerpted from the 23 November 2010 edition of “ottawacitizen.com”. Canada's border guards could soon get new powers to strip search employees in airports and ports across Canada in a bid to crack down on the smuggling of illegal drugs, such as marijuana, ecstasy and cocaine. CBSA officers also would be allowed to frisk employees and to use various types of scanners and detectors to examine goods in their possession.

This information is excerpted from the 23 November news release issued by Statistics Canada. Consumer prices rose 2.4% in the 12 months to October, the largest increase since October 2008. It follows a 1.9% increase in September. About half of the 0.5 percentage point increase can be attributed to higher gasoline prices. In October, prices at the pump were 8.8% higher than a year earlier, following a 3.1% increase the previous month. Excluding gasoline, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.1% in October after increasing 1.8% in September.

The CBSA has contacted CFIA regarding the slow EDI transmission. CFIA have indicate that they are working urgently to resolve the issue and that no data is being lost. Following is today’s message from CFIA. The following is a CBSA message EDI10-103 (on behalf of CFIA) UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE - Please be advised that all EDI transactions are being received by CFIA systems, however, the transmission of the EDI is very slow at the moment. There could be a delay of up to 2 hours. CFIA is working urgently to resolve this issue.

The following is excerpted from the 23 November 2010 news release by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Canadian beef producers will now have duty free access to the European Union market; access which is estimated to be worth more than $10 million annually for Canada. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan made the announcement today after successfully completing extensive negotiations between Canada and European Union (EU)...

Minutes of the Quebec Regional Committee meeting held on 15 October 2010 are now available on the Quebec Region page of the CSCB members site. To access, please go to our website at cscb.ca, log in, click on the Regions tab, and then on the Quebec Region link.

Minutes of the Fort Erie/Niagara Falls Customs meeting held on 10 November 2010 are now available on the Ontario Region page of the CSCB members site. To access, please go to our website at cscb.ca, log in, click on the Regions tab, and then on the Ontario Region link.

Please be advised that all EDI transactions are being received by CFIA systems, however, the transmission of the EDI is very slow at the moment. There could be a delay of up to 2 hours. CFIA is working urgently to resolve this issue. No ETA at this time. If you have questions or concerns please call: Contact Times and Phone Numbers: Eastern ISC 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM Eastern Time: 877-493-0468 National ISC 7:00 AM to 3:00 AM Eastern Time: 800-835-4486 [email protected]

Members may be interested in the following orders published on November 20, 2010, in Part I of the Canada Gazette. 1. Under the Special Import Measures Act: Orders Regarding the Dumping of Refined Sugar http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2010/2010-11-20/html/commis-eng.html#… 2. Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act: Order 2010-87-11-02 Amending the Non-domestic Substances List

The following is excerpted from the 22 November 2010 edition of “theglobeandmail.com”. U.S. authorities will reconsider airline passenger screening procedures that have caused a public uproar on the eve of the busy holiday travel season, the top transport security official said on Monday.

Minister of Finance Hosts Toronto Consultation on the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan The following is a 19 November 2010 news release by the Department of Finance. The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today hosted in Toronto a consultation with business leaders, as part of a series of discussions with Canadians on how Canada’s Economic Action Plan will continue to shape the country’s economic future in Budget 2011.

Reminder - New Requirements for Importing Fresh Fruit and Vegetables HS Codes Starting with 07 and 08 Further to the 21 October 2010 message, CFIA has issued a reminder regarding new requirements for Importing Fresh Fruit and Vegetables HS Codes Starting with 07 and 08. The changes will come into effect on December 1, 2010. Details are available here: https://new.cscb.ca/article/fresh-fruit-and-vegetable-imports-new-requi…

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have announced today that they will expand seasonal operations at the Wild Horse ports of entry in Alberta and Montana beginning March 1, 2011. Seasonal hours will be in effect from March 1 to October 31, 2011 between the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. "The CBSA's expanded seasonal hours are part of our commitment to providing the local community with the highest level of protection, service and integrity," said Yvonne Bremault, Acting Regional Director General for the CBSA in Prairie Region.

Fraudulent Practice of Including Glaze (Ice) as Part of the Net Weight Declaration of Imported Frozen Fish Products As per the Fish Inspection Regulations (FIR), importers of fish and fish products are required to meet all labelling requirements for imported fish products including the accurate declaration of the net weight of the product.

The following is a CBSA message (EDI10-100 - UPDATE). Saturday, November 20th, 2010 Partial EDI Outage: For maintenance purposes, the following EDI applications will be unavailable from 04:45 to 06:00 (ET) AND from 07:00 to 08:00 (ET) : Electronic Releases, RNS, CSA, ACI Marine, ACI Air, ACI eManifest Highway as well as Rail and Highway Cargo.

Softwood Lumber interim quota allocations for DECEMBER 2010 are now available in EICS. Please be advised that the volume available currently represents 80% of the actual December allocation.