Trade News

The following is from the 13 December 2010 edition of the "American Shipper". The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s effort to gather advance data on air cargo so it can be rated for risk before departure could be simplified by pulling information about regular shipments from the Customs accounts of known shippers, according to a trade specialist.

The following is a 14 December 2010 news release by Department of Finance. The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today proposed regulatory changes to help make federally regulated private pension plans less sensitive to financial market volatility while protecting plan members and retirees. “These changes will help pension plan sponsors to better manage their funding obligations while providing additional protection to plan members and retirees,” said Minister Flaherty.

The following is a 14 December 2010 news release by Health Canada. Today, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, federal Minister of Health, is pleased to announce that the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), has been passed by Parliament and, upon Royal Assent, would become law.

The following is a 14 December 2010 Media Advisory by DFAIT. Minister Van Loan will meet with the European Union Trade Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, in Ottawa on December 15 to discuss progress toward a Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement. They will hold a joint media availability on Wednesday, December 15, to take stock of negotiations.

The following is a 13 December 2010 news release by DFAIT. The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the North American Foreign Ministers Meeting, which took place in Wakefield, Quebec, on December 13, 2010: “The North American Foreign Ministers Meeting is an important opportunity for Canada, the United States and Mexico to consult, coordinate and work together to address key bilateral, trilateral, North American and global issues.

Modifications to the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) Requirements for the Importation of Livestock Feeds and Ingredients to Canada - Second Notice http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/feebet/ind/airs2e.shtml This notice is intended to inform feed manufacturers and importers about updates being made to the AIRS requirements for livestock feeds, as well as to explain the information or documentation requirements for feeds and feed ingredients.

Chapter 06 was published to add new OGD extensions. 06.02.90.0022.04 - Epiphytes and aerial plantlets, including epiphytic orchids - never grown in association with soil, growing media or related matter (houseplants, for personal use and not for resale) 06.02.90.0041 - Ephiphytes and aerial plantlets, including epiphytic orchids (never grown in association with soil, growing media or related matter) Please check your version number before submitting through EDI. If you have any questions, please contact your Import Service Centre.

Members may be interested in the following, published on December 11, 2010, in Part I of the Canada Gazette. 1. Canadian International Trade Tribunal, Expiry Review of Order, Flat hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel sheet and strip. http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2010/2010-12-11/html/commis-eng.html#…

The following is from the 10 December 2010 edition of "cbc.ca". Canada's trade deficit with the rest of the world shrank to $1.7 billion in October as exports of copper and precious metals hit record highs, Statistics Canada said Friday. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to come in at $2.1 billion. The deficit had been $2.3 billion in September. Exports rose 3.1 per cent to $33.8 billion, with surging export shipments of metals and alloys responsible for the narrowing trade deficit.

The following is from the 13 December 2010 edition of "The Canadian Business Journal". The federal government is giving the Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation a $300-million repayable investment to develop better, more efficient aircraft engines. Speaking in chilly Mississauga, Ont. today, Industry Minister Tony Clement told a press conference the cash infusion would create 700 skilled jobs during the project's research and development phase, and over 2,000 jobs during the 15-year period when those innovations come to light.

The following is from the 13 December 2010 edition of the "American Shipper". The St. Lawrence Seaway reported a 28 percent increase in cargo, or 4.8 million tons, for November, compared to the same period last year. Some sections of the seaway saw the highest number of ship transits for this time of the year in more than a decade, with increased volumes experienced with iron ore, coal and grain shipments.

The following is a 10 December 2010 news release by Transport Canada. The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., Member of Parliament for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Mr. Ken Schoetz, chairman of the board of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, today celebrated the completion of the Peace Bridge Plaza improvements with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly constructed laneway.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has advised that, effective December 12, 2010, it has migrated to a new system called Access Key which will replace the epass authentication for EXCOL. This migration should have had a minimal affect on all EXCOL users. Your username and password (credentials) will remain the same with the new Access Key system.

The following is a 10 December 2010 news release by DFAIT. The Honourable Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, today concluded a five-day trade mission to Turkey and Greece. The trade mission focused on expanding commercial relations and promoting free trade with the European Union.

The 2011 CADEX-formatted Customs Tariff is now available on CBSA’s website at this URL: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2011/cadex-eng.h… These files have been compressed using WinZip and to open them it is recommended that you use PKUNZIP or WinZip.

The following is excerpted from the 13 December 2010 edition of "ottawacitizen.com". The Customs and Immigration Union is going to Federal Court in an effort to win the right to carry firearms on joint operations. The guards, trained to use weapons, say they need to be armed when taking part in search operations with police because typically they haven't a clue what type of situation they're walking into.

1. The purpose of this notice is to notify exporters that the 2011 version of the Canadian Automated Export Declaration (CAED) software has been released on December 6, 2010. 2. The 2010 version of CAED will expire on January 30, 2011 at which point, only the 2011 version will be valid. CAED participants should upgrade to CAED 2011 by downloading the software from the CAED Web site at www.statcan.gc.ca/exp.

CFIA Automated Import Systems (AIS) Scheduled Maintenance Outage Including EDI As part of CFIA's ongoing efforts to improve the Automated Import Systems please be advised that CFIA will be performing maintenance which will affect access to all the Automated Import Systems (AIS) including EDI. - CFIA AIS including EDI will be unavailable from December 24, 2010 at 9:00 PM EST to December 26, 2010 at 9:00 PM EST. - AIRS will be temporarily unavailable from 9:00 PM December 24, 2010 to 11:00 PM December 24, 2010.

Starting Date Appeal No. Appellant Act Type of Hearing 2010-12-13 AP-2008-012 R P.L. Lights Systems Canada Inc. Customs Act File Hearing 2011-01-18 AP-2010-011 G.C.P. Elastomeric Inc. Customs Act Public Hearing 2011-01-20 AP-2010-019 HBC Imports c/o Zellers Inc. Customs Act Public Hearing Postponed to 2011-01-27 AP-2009-066 Danson Décor Inc. Customs Act Public Hearing