Trade News

The following information regarding the 2012 Budget and its affect on the CFIA has been posted on CFIA’s website. The CFIA continues to strengthen Canada’s food safety system and protect Canadian families. Budget 2012 identified funding of $51M over two years for key food safety initiatives. Through Budget 2011, the Government invested $100M to modernize food inspection. And in the previous four budgets, the CFIA received additional investments to improve the food safety system and hire new inspectors.

Members may be interested in the Joint Testimony of Deputy Chief, U.S. Border Patrol Ronald D Vitiello and Executive Director, Southwest Region, Office of Air and Marine Martin E. Vaughan Before House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security which is available on the CBP website at: http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/congressional_test/vv_guar…

All CFIA systems are functioning normally. The back log of EDI transactions have been cleared. _________________________________________________

a) Chapter 5 was published to streamline the import requirements for the following HS code. 05.11.99 - Other b) Chapter 10 was published to streamline the import conditions for the following HS codes: 10.01.11.0081 - Cereal - Durum wheat - seed 10.01.19.0082 - Cereal - Durum wheat - grain 10.01.91.0095 - Cereal - Other wheat - seed 10.01.99.0099 - Cereal - Other wheat - grain 10.02.10.0095 - Cereal - Rye - seed 10.02.90.0096 - Cereal - Rye - grain

Don’t miss your chance to gain ten (10) professional development points toward maintenance of your CCS designation. Please click below to access the free quiz: English French _________________________________________________

The following is excerpted from the 18 April 2012 edition of Embassy Magazine. Cuts to the Canada Border Services Agency could impact the country's Perimeter border plan with the United States or ruffle feathers in Washington, say union and opposition members—but the US Embassy says it has full confidence in Canada, and the Harper government denies frontline positions are being cut.

The following is excerpted from a 17 April 2012 speech by Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization. Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech at the Minnesota Economic Club in Minneapolis, United States on 17 April 2012, said that “trade improves the lives of most people around the world”. He added that singer Bob Dylan’s words “the times they are a changing” still ring true today in world trade. This speech is available in its entirety at:

The following is excerpted from the 18 April 2012 edition of Embassy Magazine. Cutting the number of government commerce officers across Canada could mean a more regional and specialized approach to trade promotion and investment, say analysts, but they also argue it is unlikely the government will downsize teams working on big trade deal talks.

CFIA IT has advised that the CFIA EDI System is now running. All CFIA systems are functioning, however, there is an (estimated) 12 hour backlog processing data. All EDI transactions received during the outage are now processing and no data was lost. We apologize for any inconvenience the outage may have caused. Thank you for your cooperation. _________________________________________________

The communication problems between ACROSS and the CFIA EDI System are now RESOLVED. _________________________________________________

The following is excerpted from a 17 April 2012 news release by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Canadian producers and agricultural researchers now have new opportunities for co-operation in agroforestry in the United States after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The following is a 17 April 2012 media advisory by CBSA. On behalf of the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville Gord Brown and Canada Border Services Agency Executive Vice-President Malcolm Brown invite you to attend the official opening of the Prescott port of entry. The event will include remarks from both officials followed by a brief question and answer session and photo opportunity. Tours of the facility will also be provided upon request. Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The following is excerpted from an 18 April 2012 news release by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. The Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for FedNor, yesterday announced Canada's membership in the international Open Government Partnership. The Minister presented Canada's Open Government Action Plan and endorsed the Partnership's declaration of principles as Canada's final steps toward membership in the Partnership.

The following is excerpted from the 17 April 2012 edition of Reuters Canada. Canada hopes to join a pan-Pacific trade pact in the first half of this year, Trade Minister Ed Fast said on Tuesday, but is committed to maintaining contentious tariffs that help its farmers, though some see them as protectionism. Canada says it has won the public support of 6 of the 9 member countries involved in negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and is trying to muster support from the rest to secure its entry to the grouping.

The first quiz for CCS designates will be available between 19 April and 10 May. As always, the quiz is worth ten professional development points toward maintenance of the CCS designation, and is FREE of charge. Mark your calendar! Don't miss out on this opportunity to obtain ten points! The second and third quizzes of 2012 will be available on the following dates:

CFIA is currently experiencing communication problems between ACROSS and the CFIA EDI System. There is no ETA as to when this problem will be resolved. For urgent requests, please present paper. FAX : NISC 613-773-9999. At this time we are unable to determine when service will be restored, however, we will keep you informed as information becomes available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and would like to thank you for your cooperation. _________________________________________________

The following is a CBSA message (EDI12-037) (on behalf of CFIA) Please note that the CFIA EDI system is down. If you encounter any problems submitting your transactions please present paper release requests. At this time we are unable to determine when service will be restored, however, we will keep you informed as information becomes available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and would like to thank you for your cooperation. Contact Times and Phone Numbers: National ISC 7:00 AM to 3:00 AM Eastern Time: 800-835-4486

Please be advised the communication problems between CBSA ACROSS and the CFIA EDI System has not been resolved. This connection problem is affecting the transmission of EDI transactions between CBSA ACROSS and the CFIA EDI System. CFIA is not receiving any EDI transactions at this time. We do not have a ETA. _________________________________________________

The following is a CBSA message (EDI12-036) Due to a system problem with the exchange rate file sent out April 16, 2012, the rates for 57 countries were not updated to reflect the Bank of Canada rates for April 17, 2012. Please query the CADEX system to obtain an automated update for the exchange rate file. We regret the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation. _________________________________________________