Trade News

As you are aware, both the Federal (DFAIT) and B.C. (BC MFML) governments have moved to a 180 day surplus period within the last few weeks. Due to differences between BC MFML's paper-based system and DFAIT's electronic system, the two governments were not able to put this change into effect on the same day. As a result the booms advertised on December 10, 2010 Federal Bi-weekly List were granted a surplus period of 120 days while the booms advertised on the December 9, 2010 Provincial Bi-weekly were granted a surplus of 180 days.

The following is from the 19 January 2011 edition of the "American Shipper". The United States on Tuesday requested arbitration with Canada under the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) regarding the underpricing of timber harvested from public lands in the Interior region of British Columbia.

CCS Designates are advised that three quizzes will be available during 2011 on the following dates:

a) Chapter 13 was published to: i) add new OGD extensions: 13.02.32.6000 - Guar mucilage 13.02.32.6100 - Locust bean gum ii) add conditions for "Livestock feed" to the following HS Codes: 13.01.20 - Lac; natural gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins (for example, balsams) - Gum Arabic 13.01.90 - Lac; natural gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins (for example, balsams) - Other 13.02.31 - Mucilages and thickeners, whether or not modified, derived from vegetable products: Agar-agar

Softwood Lumber interim quota allocations for FEBRUARY 2011 are now available in EICS. Please be advised that the volume available currently represents 80% of the actual February allocation.

CFIA IT has advised that the CFIA EDI System is now running. All CFIA systems are functioning, however, there is an (estimated) 6 to 8 hour backlog processing data. We apologize for any inconvenience the outage may have caused. Thank you for your cooperation.

The following is from today's edition of "The Embassy Magazine". Even as Canadian and European Union negotiators sit down this week for the sixth round of free trade talks, a series of sensitive issues—both political and technical—are causing delays. A Canadian request for inclusion of a dispute settlement mechanism similar to NAFTA's controversial Chapter 11 is stalling part of the talks, as the European Commission must obtain an extended negotiating mandate from member states.

The following is a 17 January 2011 news release by the World Customs Organization. On 10 January 2011, the Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the European Union deposited Belarus’ instrument of accession to the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (revised Kyoto Convention) with the World Customs Organization. The Convention is regarded as a blueprint for effective and modern Customs procedures, and will enter into force in Belarus on 10 April 2011.

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 Eastern ISC 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM Eastern Time: 877-493-0468

Members may be interested in the following orders published on 19 January 2011 in Part II of the Canada Gazette. 1. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, Order 2010-66-12-01 Amending the Domestic Substances List. http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2011/2011-01-19/html/sor-dors317-eng… 2. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, Order 2010-87-12-02 Amending the Domestic Substances List.

The following is a 18 January 2011 news release by Reuters Canada. The United States accused Canada on Tuesday of violating a lumber trade deal by under pricing wood from trees killed in a massive insect infestation in British Columbia. Washington filed the complaint on behalf of U.S. lumber producers who say their Western Canadian rivals are being subsidized though use of the cheap timber, which they say is prohibited under the 2006 trade deal.

The following is a 19 January 2011 news release by Reuters Canada. The Canadian dollar pared gains to briefly turned weaker against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, after U.S. housing starts and domestic manufacturing data came in softer than expected. The currency fell as low as C$0.9930 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0070, compared to C$0.9913, or $1.0088 right before the releases.

The following is a 18 January 2011 release by DFAIT. Minister Van Loan will travel to Washington, D.C. on January 19 and 20, 2011 to promote Canadian trade and investment, and discuss free trade, jobs and economic growth. During his visit, Minister Van Loan will meet with members of Congress and business leaders. He will discuss the importance of the Canada-U.S. free trade and investment relationships and promote Canada as an economic leader and a strategic destination for investment.

Appeal No. Appeal Name Act AP-2008-012R P.L. Light Systems Canada Inc. Customs Act AP-2009-045 Sher-Wood Hockey Inc. Customs Act AP-2009-072 Rona Corporation Inc. Customs Act AP-2009-073 Ingram Micro Inc. Customs Act AP-2009-076 Rutherford Controls International Corp. Customs Act AP-2009-080 M. Miner Customs Act

The following is a 18 January 2011 news release by Health Canada. Today, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, and Pierre Poilievre, Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton, announced new regulations that will restrict the use of six phthalates in toys and child care articles in order to limit exposure to children and infants.

19 January 2011 2011 Beef & Veal Quota Holders' List 573349 Ontario Ltd. o/a The Butcher Shoppe 121 Shorncliffe Road Toronto, ON M8Z 5K7 Alimentation Dynamic Inc. 565 Fernand-Poitras Terrebonne, QC J6Y 1Y5 Aliments Mello Inc. 5505 Fullum Street Montreal, QC H2G 2H5 Athena Donair Disributors Ltd. 12508-60th Street Edmonton, AB T5W 5J6

The following is an 18 January 2011 news release by DFAIT. The Honourable Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. request for arbitration with Canada under the Softwood Lumber Agreement: “The U.S. complaint deals with a pricing system that is no longer in place.

The following is from the 18 January 2011 edition of "cbc.ca". The Bank of Canada elected to hold its benchmark overnight lending rate steady at one per cent in its latest policy decision on Tuesday. "The global economic recovery is proceeding at a somewhat faster pace than the bank had anticipated, although risks remain elevated," the bank said in a statement. "Any further reduction in monetary policy stimulus would need to be carefully considered." The statement gave no clear indication as to when the bank might start raising rates again.