Trade News

Canadians, it would appear, have developed quite a perceptive view of their southern neighbour. For the longest time, they displayed a mixture of moral superiority and inferiority toward the United States. No longer – at least not to the same extent. Canadians now understand that the U.S. remains an indispensable trading partner, but it no longer offers a model for economic development. As for the U.S. political system, Canadians are horrified at what they see – with good reason.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) today announced the prescribed annual interest rates that will apply to any amounts owed to the CRA and to any amounts the CRA owes to individuals and corporations. These rates are calculated quarterly in accordance with applicable legislation and will be in effect from October 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. The rates are available at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2011/m09/nr110909-eng.html?=eml2011…

If you're frustrated with paying more than Americans for the same products, take heart: the Senate Finance Committee is looking into it.... Many products – including books, magazines and clothes – cost less in the U.S. Consumers who dealt with a much lower dollar for years have been voicing frustration over the continued difference... "Part of it is just making sure the participants in the retail economy come clean about how they price." The study won't start for at least another few weeks, however, since Parliament doesn't resume until Sept. 19.

The Canadian dollar firmed slightly against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday after U.S. jobless claims rose unexpectedly and Canadian trade and housing data came in mostly stronger than expected. The Canadian currency strengthened briefly to C$0.9840 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0162, before easing back to a pre-data value of C$0.9853, or $1.0149... This article is available in its entirety at: http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE7872ZS20110908

The following report is from Tina Kremmidas, Chief Economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Statistics Canada reported this morning that 5,500 net jobs were lost in August, a weaker than expected reading. The unemployment rate ticked up a notch to 7.3% as more people entered the labour force. The details of the report were on the soft side. Private sector employment fell (-20,600). The number of self employed dipped (-6,900) while public sector employment edged higher (+22,000).

Tropical Storm Lee has moved north into New England, bringing heavy rain and flooding to parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York... We anticipate that CP's lines in the New England area will be out of service until the weekend as additional rain is expected... For more information, please visit the CP website at: http://www.cpr.ca/en/customer-centre/customer-bulletins/Pages/StormLeei…

a) Chapter 06 was published to change the release recommendation from "Refer to CFIA-ISC" to "Approved" for the following HS Codes from off-continent origins 06.04.99.0048.01 - Foliage, branches - dried - dyed, bleached or other - Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga spp.) 06.04.99.0048.05 - Foliage, branches - dried - dyed, bleached or other - Balsam fir and other Abies spp. 06.04.99.0048.06 - Foliage, branches - dried - dyed, bleached or other - Oak (Quercus spp.)

Canada's merchandise exports rose 2.2% and imports edged up 0.5% in July. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.4 billion in June to $753 million in July. Further details are available on the Statistics Canada website at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/110908/dq110908a-eng.htm

The following message is from EICS. Brokers are advised that the correction period for AUGUST 2011 Softwood Lumber permits ends September 10th 2011, at 17:00 ET. We remind you of the importance of submitting correct information on permits as this is imperative to the operation of the Softwood Lumber Agreement. Please submit permit corrections for the month of AUGUST before the end of the correction period, as is the case for every allocation month of the year.

The following message is from CFIA. As part of CFIA's ongoing efforts to improve the Automated Import Systems please be advised that CFIA will be performing maintenance/upgrade that will affect access to AIRS Web. AIRS Web will be temporarily unavailable between 8 PM EST to 10 PM EST on Thursday 8th of September 2011 . If you require assistance please contact the Import Service Centre: National Import Service Centre (NISC) - Toronto: 1-800-835-4486, 905-795-7834 - FAX : 905-795-9658

The following message is from EICS. The EDI service for EICS has been restored. Please carefully check your transmissions to ensure all is well.

The following is a meesage from CBSA (EDI11-054). Please note that there will be changes to the list of HS codes subject to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements. The ACROSS system and the CBSA website will be updated Monday, October 3, 2011. The list is available at: http://new.cscb.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/CFIA-HSCODES-20111003.XLS

The following message is from EICS. We are presently experiencing technical difficulties with the EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) Service within EICS. An investigation is underway, and further information will be provided as it becomes available. Please refrain from sending EDI transmissions until further notice. Questions or problems can be directed to the EICS help desk: [email protected] or by calling 1-877-808-8838 (outside of Ottawa)

Director-General [of WTO] Pascal Lamy, in his speech to CUTS in Delhi on 6 September 2011, said the multilateral trading system of the future will have to address a number of global challenges, including “the blurring of the edges between trade policy and others such as exchange rate policies, climate change policies, food security policies or energy policies”. But he said the more pressing challenge is to advance the Doha Round: “to find the political courage and the pragmatic steps which will lead our Members to have an honest negotiation”.

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 2011-36 Chapter 11 - Section 11.7.e - Japan The PDF version of directives should be used for maintaining print copies of the meat hygiene manual of procedures.

An additional $92 billion has been spent on national security in Canada in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a report to be released Wednesday. The study by the Ottawa-based Rideau Institute tracked the budgets for what it calls the "new national security establishment," that it says was built in response to the terrorist attacks a decade ago and includes the departments of National Defence, Foreign Affairs, Public Safety, Justice, the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the Canada Border Services Agency...

Trade using surface transportation between Canada, the US and Mexico, was 11.0% higher in June than in June 2010, totalling $ 77.5 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the US Department of Transportation. BTS reported that the value of US surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in June rose 52.7% in two years from June 2009, but has still only risen 4.6% above the level of June 2008, the previous high for any June based on data collection begun in 1994.

Chapter 41 was published to streamline the import conditions for the following HS code. 41.03.90.1930 - Other raw hides and skins (fresh, or salted, dried, limed, pickled or otherwise preserved, but not tanned, parchment-dressed or further prepared), whether or not dehaired or split, other than those excluded by Note 1 (b) or 1 (c) to this Chapter.. - Other This generated a requirement version change to the following HS Codes. 41.01.20.1910 - Green, raw, bovine hides.

Companies engaged in international trade often feel they are adhering to customs rules if their intentions are good, but a recent case involving Gibson Guitars underscores the importance of having strong internal controls over compliance activities. On Aug. 24, agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Homeland Security raided Gibson’s executive headquarters, as well as two factories in Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., where they confiscated several pallets of wood, guitars and electronic files, according to the company and news reports.