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Toronto, November 23, 2020
Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.) struck a transitional trade deal on Saturday, November 21, 2020, to protect the flow of goods, once Brexit takes place January 1, 2021, when the U.K. is no longer part of the European Union benefiting from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
The new deal, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA), is an interim measure that will be in place as Canada and the U.K. work towards negotiating a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement over the next year.
As CETA will no longer apply to the U.K. beginning January 1, 2021, this new agreement will provide continued access to the benefits of CETA on a bilateral basis, including the elimination of tariffs on 98% of Canadian products exported to the U.K.. This will provide a competitive edge to Canadian exporters and businesses who will maintain preferential access to the U.K. market, even as the country exits the EU.
It is likely the new transitional deal will require valid CETA Origin Declarations for 2021. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
For more information, please call Brian Rowe, Director – Customs Compliance & Regulatory Affairs at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1213.
Toronto, November 12, 2020
Container shortages, space constraints and port/terminal issues have been plaguing importers from Asia since September, and are continuing to worsen. Sources say that container shortages at the ports of Xiamen, Ningbo, and Shanghai, are so serious that some vessels are leaving Asia without full loads as there is not enough equipment to be found. Not only is equipment an issue, but getting space is equally as challenging. Many carriers have their space full through to the second week of December.
This issue coupled with weather related problems at load ports throughout Asia have disrupted container schedules causing complications and delays at Canadian ports. The ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are expected to be dealing with vessel delays and longer container dwell time through to the end of the year. Container dwell time is the average number of days it takes for the container to load to rail once discharged from the vessel. We are also seeing delays at the Port of Montreal and to a lesser extent in Halifax, as well as congestion issues at destination rail terminals, most notably Toronto which receives a high amount of import volume cargo destined to Canada.
We urge clients to be prepared for delays and allow for longer transit times than normal for their orders to arrive.
For more information, please call Debbie McGuire, Manager – Freight Solutions at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1308.
Toronto, October 22, 2020
The Canada-U.S. border closure has once again been extended, to non-essential travel, for another 30 days and is now set to expire on November 21, 2020.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “We will continue to make sure that Canadian safety is top of mind when we move forward. We see the cases in the United States and elsewhere around the world, and we need to continue to keep these border controls in place” during an interview with a radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Supply chains, including trucking, are not impacted by this measure and the movement of commercial goods across the border is unaffected. "Non-essential" travel pertains to travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature.
On March 26, 2020, the Government of Canada put in place mandatory 14-day self-isolation for all persons entering Canada, even if they do not have COVID-19 symptoms. This 14-day self-isolation does not pertain to trans-border truck drivers, the full exceptions are:
Exceptions
Consequently, an exception to the order to self-isolate for 14 days is being provided to workers who are essential to the movement of goods and people. For example, this exemption would apply to:
For more information, please call Brian Rowe, Director – Customs Compliance & Regulatory Affairs at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1213.
Toronto, October 2, 2020
The following message was issued by the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA) on Thursday, October 1, 2020:
"Following the strike by dockworkers that paralyzed operations at the Port of Montreal in August and September, Resilience360 research indicates that major ports on both the west and east coasts of Canada continue to experience disruption ranging from port congestion to rail car shortages.
"While the strike ended more than four weeks ago, ocean- and rail-dependent supply chain operations across Canada are unlikely to fully normalize before November 2020," says Neža Kričaj, Supply Chain Risk Analyst, Resilience360.
Read more in an article from Logistics Management."
For more information, please call David Lychek, Manager – Ocean & Air Services at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1207.
Toronto, September 16, 2020
The U.S. Trade Representative's office announced September 15, 2020 it will not proceed with the 10% tariff on Canadian origin aluminum, for which Canada was ready to implement retaliatory countermeasure tariffs effective September 16, 2020.
A statement from the USTR said after "consultations with the Canadian government, the United States has determined that trade in non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum is likely to normalize in the last four months of 2020, with imports declining sharply from the surges experienced earlier in the year." The announcement also stated, "Six weeks after the end of any month during this period, the United States will determine whether actual shipments met expectations. If actual shipments exceeded 105 percent of the expected volume for any month during the four-month period, then the United States will impose the 10 percent tariff retroactively on all shipments made in that month." Expected monthly volumes are laid out in the statement.
Based on this announcement, the corresponding Canadian retaliatory countermeasure tariffs will not be imposed at this time.
For more information, please call Brian Rowe, Director – Customs Compliance & Regulatory Affairs at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1213.
Toronto, August 14, 2020
Since July, rates on the Trans-Pacific trade lane from Asia to North America have increased substantially due to strong consumer demand. We have seen volumes rise steadily, even with the reinstatement of void sailings which had enabled the lines to keep rates stable while demand was low during the early months of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The steamship lines have announced GRIs (General Rate Increases) for August 15, September 1 and September 15. Many analysts contribute this high demand to shippers who are moving as much cargo as possible ahead of the holiday season, in anticipation that COVID outbreaks may prompt more lockdowns later this quarter.
For more information, please call Debbie McGuire, Manager – Freight Solutions at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1308.
Toronto, August 12, 2020
Effective September 25, 2020, goods produced in Hong Kong may no longer be marked to indicate their origin as Hong Kong, but must be marked to indicate China. This change from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), published in the Federal Register August 11, 2020, is due to a determination by the U.S. that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous and will, therefore, be subject to the same requirements as China.
These goods will also be subject to the additional China Tariff (where applicable), based on the origin change requirement upon entry to the U.S..
At this time it is not known whether Canada will assume the same position with respect to Hong Kong. Where goods are produced in Hong Kong for multiple markets, the origin marking must adhere to regulations of the country of import.
We will provide details as they are available.
For more information, please call Brian Rowe, Director – Customs Compliance & Regulatory Affairs at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1213.
Toronto, July 28, 2020
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced that the Single Window Initiative (SWI), scheduled to become mandatory as of April 1, 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will become effective August 17, 2020.
As of this date, the existing OGD PARS and RMD service options will be decommissioned and any import declarations submitted via OGD PARS and RMD will be rejected.
CBSA created the SWI in order to electronically communicate with Participating Government Agencies (PGAs) to better identify goods with import requirements, and exchange that information with the PGA at time of release.
Universal Logistics has continued to use SWI for all PGA release requests since October 2018, however, because the program was not mandatory during that period CBSA did not require complete information for all areas. Effective August 17, 2020 importers will be required to provide all required information at time of import.
As noted in our February 2020 issue of Route, additional fees will be implemented once SWI becomes mandatory.
For more information, please call Brian Rowe, Director – Customs Compliance & Regulatory Affairs at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1213.
Toronto, July 16, 2020
If you are a food business, a Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) Licence may now be required (with certain exceptions) to import food into Canada.
The SFCR came into force January 15, 2019, with a phased in approach based upon food commodity, type of activity and business size. After the initial January 2019 implementation, the next phases are July 15, 2020 (most importers) and July 16, 2021 (for companies with annual food sales of $100,000 or less or that have 4 or less employees).
Most businesses will require a licence effective July 15, 2020. In order to apply for a SFCR licence, businesses will need to attest that they have preventive controls in place.
The timelines for complying with licensing, preventive controls, preventive control plan and traceability requirements vary by food, activity and size of the food business. For information relevant to your food business, select the SFCR timelines that apply to you from the list below:
Food businesses must enrol at My CFIA to apply for a licence. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will not accept SFCR licence applications sent by email or fax. Once your application is submitted, CFIA will generally issue a licence in approximately 15 days.
The CFIA has also created an advanced search tool called the Guidance Finder, which lets users find information about SFCR requirements by specifying activity type, food commodity, method of production and document type, along with interactive tools and timelines.
Although the CFIA announced on April 7, 2020 that due to COVID-19 they would not be prioritizing compliance activities for SFCR, they have not yet determined a firm date by which imported shipments will be rejected without a valid SFCR Licence. CFIA are recommending all importers (where required) obtain their SFCR Licence in order to avoid delays once the regulations are enforced.
For more information about the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, visit inspection.gc.ca/safefood or call Brian Rowe, Director – Customs Compliance & Regulatory Affairs at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1213.
