Trade News

Minutes of the GTA-Commercial District CBSA/CSCB meeting held on 19 October 2011 are now available on the Toronto Region page of the CSCB members site. To access, please go to our website at www.cscb.ca, login, and look under “Regional Activity”. __________________________________________________

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 2011-47 Chapter 11 - Section 11.7.3 - China MHD 2011-38 *Amended Chapter 11 - Section 11.7.3 - European Union The PDF version of directives should be used for maintaining print copies of the meat hygiene manual of procedures.

Minutes of the Quebec Regional Committee meeting held on 24 November 2011 are now available on the Quebec Region page of the CSCB members site. To access, please go to our website at www.cscb.ca, login, and look under “Regional Activity”. __________________________________________________

The following is a CBSA message (EDI11-082). The 2012 classification and tariff code files will be available mid-December. You will be able to access these files in CADEX format on the Internet at the following site: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/menu-eng.html.

The following is excerpted from the 6 December 2011 edition of The Montreal Gazette. Canada and the United States will announce new border security measures Wednesday that lead to enhanced tracking of travellers, better cyber-security, joint government facilities and improved oversight of overseas cargo shipped to both countries.

The following is a 5 December 2011 news release by CBP. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the European Union Taxation and Customs Union Directorate agreed to language for the U.S.-EU Mutual Recognition Decision today which will lead to its signing in the Spring of 2012. Once signed, the Mutual Recognition Decision will recognize the respective trade partnership programs of the U.S. and the EU—CBP’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and the EU’s Authorized Economic Operator—with reciprocal benefits...

The following is excerpted from the 6 December 2011 edition of The Globe and Mail. To date, Stephen Harper has been an astute manager of Canada-U.S. relations.

The following is a CBSA message (EDI11-081). The following is further to Message EDI11-077 sent on November 28, 2011. Please note that we have been advised that the quota for Barley Products has not been filled, therefore the closing date for the within access commitment has been extended and will now close on December 21, 2011 at 23:59. __________________________________________________

CBSA has confirmed that penalties for late accounting on transactions affected by Tariff Notice TN-58 will be automatically waived. Details are provided in the following message. The following message is from CBSA (EDI11-080).

Members are advised, the following CFIA directives have been revised: Appendix 1 "List of pine shoot beetle infested areas in Canada and the United States" of Directive D-94-22 "Plant Protection Requirements on Pine Plants and Pine Materials to Prevent the Entry and Spread of Pine Shoot Beetle" has been revised and is available on the web at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/protect/dir/psbe.shtml

Members may be interested in the following, published on 3 December 2011 in Part I of the Canada Gazette. 1. Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 Order 2011-87-09-02 Amending the Non-domestic Substances List http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2011/2011-12-03/html/notice-avis-eng… __________________________________________________

The next IFCBA World Conference will take place in Athens, Greece from May 8-11, 2012. In these globally uncertain times, importers and exporters are demanding a range and level of service from partners that requires you to be aware of change well before it occurs. Join customs broker colleagues from around the world to share experience and expertise and hear first-hand from Custom and Trade leaders and decision-makers.

As a CCS designate, you must earn 20 CCS professional development points and pay annual dues every year. Make sure to get points before December 31st! You can go online and see your points status! __________________________________________________

The following is excerpted from a 5 December 2011 news release by the Department of Finance Canada. The Department of Finance announced today that Canada’s official international reserves increased by an amount equivalent to US$312 million during November to US$65,740 million. Details on the level and composition of Canada’s reserves as of November 30, 2011, as well as the major factors underlying the change in reserves, are provided below. All figures are in millions of US dollars unless otherwise noted.

This important message is to notify you that Canadian Pacific has updated its Tariffs with changes, effective January 1st, 2012. This notice is available in its entirety on the Canadian Pacific website at: http://www.cpr.ca/en/customer-centre/customer-bulletins/Pages/Changesto…

Further to our message yesterday, “CBSA Message: Tariff Notice TN-58” here is the authorizing Order in Council. We are aware that there have been and continue to be many challenges associated with the implementation of this package of amendments and we therefore have directed several questions to CBSA regarding which we are awaiting responses. We will continue to provide updated information as it is received. __________________________________________________

This is a reminder that a full database backup of the production database (PROD) is scheduled for Saturday, December 3rd, 2011. CFIA systems will be unavailable from 3am to 7am EST. Please note that full database backups of the production database (PROD) are scheduled for the first Saturday of every month between 3am and 7am EST. __________________________________________________

In addition to the CBSA message distributed this morning, DFAIT has advised: Due to communication problems, the electronic data interchange (EDI) of permit data from the EICS system to CBSA is not operational. Until further notice, CBSA is allowing the presentation of paper permits for the release of controlled merchandise. There is currently no ETA for the resolution of this situation. __________________________________________________

The following is excerpted from the 1 December 2011 edition of The Globe and Mail. This week, the Harper government pushed through the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on selling wheat and barley. It also eliminated tariffs on 70 imported products, to the delight of Canadian manufacturers. Both steps, the government argued, would help Canadians compete internationally. Said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz of the Wheat Board’s demise: “This is what we have been waiting for, [for] decades.”...

The following is excerpted from a 1 December 2011 news release by Export Development Canada. A survey released today by Export Development Canada (EDC) shows that twenty per cent of exporters had their trade flows significantly impacted by the European financial crisis and the Japanese earthquake.