Trade News

The following is a 10 November 2010 news release by the Department of Finance. The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today welcomed an agreement with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission that designates Canada as a destination for Chinese insurance wealth management business. “Under this agreement, Chinese insurance companies will be permitted to invest in Canada, giving Canadian financial markets access to a potential pool of about $106 billion in investment capital,” said Minister Flaherty.

Serial No. 770 Date: November 2, 2010 Purposes The purposes of this Notice are:

Serial No. 772 Date: November 2, 2010 The purposes of this Notice are: a) to inform importers of the Minister's policies and practices respecting the administration of the 484,000 kg tariff rate quota (TRQ) for ice cream and ice cream novelties for 2011. It should be read with the Import Allocation Regulations and the Import Permit Regulations. Where elements of the present Notice augment these Regulations, those elements are to be read as expressions of the Minister’s normal practices and procedures; and

Serial No. 771 Date: November 2, 2010 Purpose The purposes of this Notice are: a) to inform importers of the Minister’s policies and practices respecting the administration of the 332,000 kilogram tariff rate quota (TRQ) for yogurt. It should be read with the Import Allocation Regulations and the Import Permit Regulations. Where elements of the present Notice augment these Regulations, those elements are to be read as expressions of the Minister’s normal practices and procedures; and

This information is excerpted from the 10 November news release issued by Statistics Canada. Canada's merchandise exports declined 1.7% to $33.1 billion in September, as export volumes fell 2.2% while prices increased 0.5%. The level of exports has remained relatively unchanged since the beginning of 2010. Automotive products, other consumer goods as well as industrial goods and materials were the main factors behind the decline. Conversely, exports of machinery and equipment increased during the month.

This memorandum outlines the Canada Border Services Agency policy as it relates to the tariff classification of furniture sets. The document is available on the CBSA website at: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d10/d10-14-58-eng.html

The following message is from CBSA (EDI10-097).

The following is a CBSA message (EDI10-096). The implementation of a “press 1 / press 2” feature on the EDI Hotline (1-888-957-7224) over the summer has resulted in a number of misdirected calls. When calling the EDI Hotline, you have two options: Press 1 – to speak to the Electronic Commerce Unit (ECU). ECU provides assistance on the following: Systems: CADEX , CUSDEC, ACROSS, RNS, CSA Importer, CSA Carrier, ACI Marine, ACI Air, Rail and G7 Export

On August 31, 2010, CBSA provided a one page summary outlining their national trade compliance priorities for 2010-11. That message can be seen here: http://new.cscb.ca/article/cbsa-national-trade-compliance-priorities CBSA have now updated that list and have included some “older” valuation priorities. This is due to priorities that are in their final stages in some regions but remain active.

CBSA’s 2009-2010 departmental performance report is now available on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr/2009-2010/inst/bsf/bsf00-eng.asp

The following is excerpted from the 8 November 2010 news release by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Following the thwarted terrorist plot last week to conceal and ship explosive devices on board aircraft bound for the U.S., the Administration took a number of immediate steps to increase security by tightening existing measures related to cargo bound for the United States.

The following is excerpted from the 8 November 2010 news release by Transport Canada. The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, today announced new aviation security measures to further enhance the safety and security of Canada’s aviation system. Effective Monday, November 8, 2010, at 12 p.m.:

The following is from the 9 November 2010 edition of “theglobeandmail.com”. The Canadian dollar (CAD/USD-I1.000.0030.30%) was just above parity with the U.S. dollar Tuesday morning as the greenback weakened against a variety of other currencies. The loonie was up 0.55 of a cent to 100.18 cents (U.S). The latest bout of U.S. dollar weakness comes amid worry about European government debt and simmering tensions over currencies and trade gaps ahead of the meeting of G20 leaders Thursday and Friday.

Items 117 to 134 and 141 to 160 - Dairy products on the import control list: supplementary import permits Serial No. 783 Date: November 2, 2010 Purpose The purpose of this Notice is to outline the Minister’s policies and practices respecting supplementary imports of dairy products.

As the first step in eliminating the import permit requirement for items 80 and 81, carbon steel and specialty steel, the Export and Import Controls Bureau has announced the elimination of fees for these permits. The CSCB has asked that DFAIT provide the date, as soon possible, when import permits for these goods will no longer be required. EICB’s message follows: Elimination of Permit Fees related to the importation of Item 80 - Carbon Steel and Item 81 - Specialty Steel of the Import Control List

Starting Date Appeal No. Appellant Act Type of Hearing 2010-11-30 AP-2010-003 Rui Royal International Corp. Customs Act Public Hearing 2010-12-02 AP-2010-004 Nestle Canada Inc. Customs Act Public Hearing

Chapter 01 was published to add a recommendation to the following HS codes from the US for the end use "In-Transit". 01.05.11.1011 Weighing not more than 185 g: Fowls of the species Gallus domesticus - Over 3 days old. 01.05.11.1012 Less than 3 days old. 01.05.12.1011 Weighing not more than 185 g: Turkeys - Over 3 days old. 01.05.12.1012 Less than 3 days old. 01.05.19.1013.01 Weighing not more than 185 g: Other - Guinea fowl. Over 3 days old. 01.05.19.1013.02 Less than 3 days old.

The following meat hygiene directives are now available in HTML and PDF versions at: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/meavia/man/direct/directe.shtml MHD 2010-29 Chapter 2 and 3 The PDF version of directives should be used for maintaining print copies of the meat hygiene manual of procedures.

Thursday 11 November is a federal government holiday, and the Bureau's offices will be closed (no officers or Help Desk staff will be available). The EICS and EXCOL systems will be available during normal hours. Please note that the Help Desk email ONLY will be monitored on Thursday 11 November between 08:00 - 16:00 EST for urgent messages. EMAIL / COURRIEL: [email protected]

CBSA has confirmed that a digital representation of a cursive signature is acceptable on a NAFTA Certificate of Origin. Members will recall that this is a long outstanding issue, with previous information received often confusing. The following, from CBSA, should finally bring this issue to a close.