Blanket certificates of origin, whether for NAFTA or for other free trade agreements, are usually filled-out to begin on January 1 and to expire, 12 months later, on Dec. 31.

As happens every year, the majority of blanket certificates in our databases are set to expire Dec. 31.

If you have not already done so, please make sure that you obtain the required renewed certificates for 2011.

Shipments cannot be cleared under the preferential tariff treatment of a free trade agreement unless a current and valid certificate is on hand.

The governments of Canada and India have launched talks on a free trade deal they said could boost gross domestic product in each nation by $6 billion a year and increase existing trade flows by 50%. The leaders of the two countries said in a statement that "both sides expect a timely conclusion of an ambitious agreement."

India is projected to be the world's third largest economy by 2050 and is a priority market for Canada," said a Canadian background document. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said a deal with India could benefit Canadian exporters of forest products, minerals, manufactured goods, machinery, construction materials and equipment as well as aerospace equipment.

Bilateral trade hit C$4.2 billion in 2009, an increase of 70% from 2004. In 2009, Canada's main export products were vegetables, fertilizers, machinery and wood pulp. Imports from India that year were valued at $2.0 billion and consisted principally of organic chemicals, clothing, precious stones and metals, and electronic equipment and machinery.

As of December 1, 2010, the CFIA federal produce licence number, or alternatively the Canadian DRC membership number, or a declaration of exemption will be required to be part of the submission of import documentation for shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables (HS codes starting with 07 and 08) coming to Canada.

Importers submitting information for paper release will be required to enter the above information on the Confirmation of Sale (COS) form in box 22. Importers transmitting information through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) will be required to enter their federal produce licence number, their DRC membership number or indicate that they are exempt from the requirements of the Licensing and Arbitration Regulations in the "Registration Requirements" field. In those cases where the importer is a non-resident importer, the Canadian consignee's federal produce licence or DRC membership number must be entered.  

On November 15th 2010, Luc Portelance became the President of the Canada Border Services Agency, having previously been named to the position of Executive Vice-President for the Agency in August 2008.

Mr. Portelance began his career with the RCMP in 1979 and joined the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in 1984. He held a number of senior positions at CSIS, including Deputy Director General, Counter Intelligence Branch; Director General, Quebec Region; Assistant Director, Corporate, Headquarters; and Deputy Director, Operations, Headquarters.

Former CBSA president Stephen Rigby has been appointed to be Prime Minister Stephen Harper's national security advisor.

CBP recently issued a cargo notice reminding importers that, if their addresses are wrong in the CBP system and mail is returned, their bonds will be rendered insufficient, i.e., canceled.

Each time mail is returned, CBP works to acquire the correct address, but if the agency is unsuccessful, it has an easy way to get the importer's attention. It simply cancels his bond. If it turns out CBP is wrong, the importer has recourse; but the really interesting question is how often does CBP first check its own address database? There is still a myriad of mail being addressed by CBP to importers at addresses that were vacated long ago and superseded by updated 5106 filings, but the new addresses are not being used.

Make sure that your address is current and accurate in the CBP system by checking with us. If it is not, you should immediately file a CBP From 5106 and update the data.

Source: Susan Kohn Ross, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP.

Earlier this month, the CBSA issued seven communiqués outlining its decisions regarding the following ACI/eManifest issues:

* Interim process for exceptional clearances.
* Interim process for mixed (electronic/paper) shipments in the highway mode.
* Interim process for in-bond shipments.
* Process for single-trip in-bond movements.
* Documenting proof of report for frontier release(s)
* Additions and repairs to commercial vehicles.
* Administrative monetary penalties for carriers who voluntarily report non-compliance with pre-arrival data requirements.

Additionally, the CBSA has made the following revised ACI/eManifest documents available:

* eManifest Highway Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document. * ECCRD EDI Message Maps & Code Tables, Appendix "B" of the ACI/eManifest Highway Client Document.

* Summary of Changes from v1.3 to v1.4

These bulletins and documents can all be downloaded from Tradelines here and here. 

The CBSA's use of detector dogs began with three canine units at the Ambassador Bridge in 1978. The program has since expanded to include 73 detector dog teams working at all modes at ports across Canada.

Detector Dog teams (consisting of a dog and its handler) undergo a 12 week training course at the CBSA Learning Centre in Rigaud, Quebec. Dogs begin training between the ages of 11 and 16 months and work for an average of 8 to 10 years. Several different breeds are used, but the CBSA primarily uses Labrador Retrievers for firearm, drug and currency detection, and the Beagle for plant, food and animal detection.

In 2009, CBSA detector dogs were responsible for:

* 11,522 seizures of illegally imported food, plants and animals
* 622 drug seizures with a street value of $136 million
* 57 currency seizures totaling $1,289,322
* 24 firearms confiscations

Introducing the International Trade Compliance Strategies Blog

The world has gone global... Have you?  

Being competitive in today's globalized business environment increasingly means turning to international supply chains. This in turn is putting greater pressure on organizations to be more proficient and compliant than ever before when it comes to their international trade activities. Getting things right the first time isn't simply a desirable goal; these days it's practically considered a mandatory obligation of traders by Customs authorities and other government regulators.

This is the general frame of reference from which we decided to recently launch a blog dealing generally with the issue of compliance as it relates to international trade. More than anything, we want to help raise awareness amongst the trade community about the vital importance of compliance, to engage in a discussion with those interested in the subject and to share the ideas and experiences of others striving to achieve compliance.   

We invite you to check it out and become part of the discussion. Don't hesitate to ask a question or leave a comment - let us know how this issue may be affecting your organization.

In Phase I of AMPS Review Implementation that became effective April 1, 2010, a new business requirement was introduced in the escalation of penalty levels from the first to the second for some low and medium risk contraventions to allow importers and exporters enough time to correct their non-compliance with the many trade laws and regulations, which the CBSA enforces on its own behalf and on that of other government departments.

Should a second Penalty Assessment (PA) with the same contravention be issued against the same client, the system will not escalate the penalty level to level two unless 30 days have transpired from when the first PA was issued or the infraction occurred. The 30-day non-escalation requirement will apply from the first to second level only; it will not apply from the second to third level.

In Phase II of the AMPS Review Implementation, twelve new low/medium risk contraventions have been added to the list of those subject to the 30 day non-escalation policy.

Other changes to the AMPS program taking effect on December 15, 2010 include:

* the collapsing of 68 marking contraventions into one;
* updated penalty amounts for some of the contraventions to align risk with penalty amount;
* deletion of several contraventions resulting from a review of the records penalties and contraventions that had never been issued;
* updated wording on the Notice of Penalty Assessment form regarding the Penalty Reinvestment Agreement, acceptance of debit transactions for payment of penalties, the location of information on filing a request for appeal on the CBSA's website and the fax number of the issuing office for correction or appeal correspondence;
* updates to the wording of contraventions and their guidelines, making them more transparent; and
* several internal systems changes to assist officers in correctly administering the program.

Links to the appropriate Customs Notices, D-Memos and other documents detailing changes associated with Phase II of the AMPS Review implementation can be found on our Tradelines website here.

In addition to several other new items (see the complete list), the CBSA has added the following types of liquid pumps to its current list of commodities prioritized for advanced scrutiny in terms of both their valuation and origin.  

8513.11.10
Pumps for dispensing gasoline, diesel fuel, liquid natural gas or liquid propane of a type used in filling stations or garages.

8413.19.10
Other pumps for dispensing fuel oil; skid-mounted pumps for dispensing fuel for helicopters.

8413.70.99
Other centrifugal pumps; single stage suction type, multi-stage single suction and double suction type; stock pumps for use with machines for making cellulosic pulp, paper or paperboard, and other.

Importers of the foregoing goods should take this advance notification from the CBSA as an opportunity to ensure that their entires are in full compliance with all applicable regulatory guidelines.