| GHY on Facebook |  | |
Now you can stay current with the latest news and views about customs, international trade developments and trade compliance issues by connecting with us through our new Facebook page which brings together all of our news, blog and social media feeds in one convenient location.
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| Proposed New B2 Blanket Adjustment Policy |  | |
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has released a notice advising that the agency has initiated a reduction, by April 1, 2011, of resources expended processing B2 Adjustments under strategic review.
Following consultation to discuss partially automating the B2 process to achieve resource reductions, it was determined instead that full and true automation be sought in the longer-term. To deal with resource reductions that are nevertheless coming April 1, expansion of the CBSA's B2 Blanket Adjustment process is being pursued until full automation is ultimately attained.
A draft policy on the new B2 Blanket Adjustments process can be downloaded from our website here.
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| ICC Launches Online Incoterms® 2010 Training |  | |
ICC has further expanded its online training offerings with the launch of Incoterms® 2010 Online Training, making its services even more accessible and convenient to users of the rules worldwide.
Incoterms® 2010 Online Training is designed to fully prepare users for the updated Incoterms® 2010 rules, which came into effect in January 2011, as well as to ensure that global availability of ICC structured training in this area. The six-hour course is suitable for anyone who wishes to gain a firm foundation in the use and application of Incoterms® 2010. Click here for further information.
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| CFIA Website Now Lists Foods Blocked at Border |  | |
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's website now lists what foods have been blocked at the border, and which domestic producers have been shut down.
Agents have turned away dozens of shipments in the past year, including fresh limpets from Ireland, ghee butter from Syria and whole goat milk powder from China.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced the new website feature earlier this month at an organic food store in Ottawa. "We know consumers want more information and we are delivering that transparency around what we are doing to protect Canadian families." said Ritz.
CFIA checks food imports at the border, and pays special attention to meat, dairy, eggs, shellfish and honey.
Consumers can see a list of offenders and descriptions of blocked food here.
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| EU Report Identifies Barriers With Major Trading Partners |  |
Earlier this month, the European Commission published its first Trade and Investment Barriers report which singles out important trade barriers in the markets of six strategic economic partners and proposes specific actions to remove the barriers.
"We need more than paper deals", said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. "We need to ensure that the trade deals and rules we have negotiated with our partners are actually implemented on the ground."
The report highlights market access barriers in six of the EU's strategic economic partners: China, India, Russia, Japan, Mercosur (Brazil/Argentina) and the United States. The 21 barriers listed cover a broad range of obstacles such as China's indigenous innovation policy, India's plans to establish burdensome licensing requirements in the telecommunications sector, "Buy American" policies in the US or Russia's new investment rules. The report also lists export restrictions on raw materials which harm European companies who incorporate raw materials into their products.
Although written from the perspective of European traders, the report nevertheless has relevance to Canadian and U.S. companies who face many of the same barriers in their efforts to improve and open up new export and investment opportunities with the countries identified in the report.
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| Changes at U.S. Border Posts |  | |
Big changes are in store for two crossing points on Saskatchewan's southern border. At Portal, N.D., work has resumed on a new $40-million building for U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel.
Construction stopped last year because of a problem with what Mike Milne, spokesperson for the CBP's Seattle regional office, called "ingress and egress" -specifically, roads on the Canadian side of the border.
Meanwhile, 200 kilometres west, the CBSA's border crossing at Big Beaver, 150 km southwest of Regina, will close April 1, but the corresponding American port of entry at White Tail, Montana (which is currently undergoing an $8.5 million upgrade) will remain open - at least for a while.
Currently, Saskatchewan has 12 crossings on its 600 kilometres of border, compared with 17 for Manitoba's 445 kilometres.
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| GHY E-Newsletter #16 March 2011 |
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Putting the Power of IBM's Watson to Work For GHY Clients
Advanced technology helps us manage the complexities of trade more effectively
Watson -- IBM's Jeopardy-winning computer -- showcased the refined capabilities of the computer giant's technologically advanced, workload-optimized systems. During its three-night stretch on the popular television game show, Watson ran on the latest IBM Power7 technology, which can manage the most demanding applications, such as real-time analytics.
The underlying "engine" found in Watson - Power 750 servers based on POWER7® processor technology that can be automatically optimized for both analytics and transaction performance is currently being utilized by GHY International and our highly successful experience has been featured in IBM sales documents, web features and videos.
GHY is using POWER7 systems to help clients manage the complex essentials of worldwide trade, such as document production, compliance, and risk management, in real time, saving businesses time and money.
IBM Power Systems have allowed us to use a cross-platform server consolidation and virtualization strategy to effectively manage these new, emerging customs workloads faster and more efficiently than ever before. As a result, we are now able to rapidly deploy new capabilities to support our clients' changing needs.
To find out more about Watson and GHY's experience with its underlying technology visit our website here.
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Global Business Strategy and Innovation
A Canadian Logistics Perspective - Highlights and Key Findings
In the international marketplace, supply chain performance is an important competitive differentiator. Innovative supply chain strategists claim that supply chain design, structure and sophistication are influenced by six main factors: globalization, increasing logistics I complexity, rising risk, increasing labour costs in the developing world, sustainability, and growing volatility. 1 In this context, logistics has prospered over the last decade as the flow of information has become paramount to supply chain efficiency across industries.
Ongoing innovation in logistics has been a key enabler in the development of global value chains. Changing parameters in manufacturing, global sourcing, investment, technology and security requirements are compelling logistics executives to revise procurement and decision making processes. Over the last few years, a critical competitiveness factor for Canadian firms has been the ability to develop and implement logistics solutions that enhance agility and adaptability throughout the supply chain.
In partnership with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) and Supply Chain & Logistics Association Canada (SCL), Industry Canada reviewed the valuable core business function of logistics. By collecting insights from industry, academia and international research organizations, and using economic analysis conducted by Industry
Canada, this industry-academia-government partnership has produced a complete profile of logistics innovation and global business strategies in Canada, summarized in a report that can be downloaded from our website. |
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Canada Consumer Product Safety Act
Important Notice to Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors and Retailers: How Businesses will be affected by the CCPSA
Product safety is in everyone's best interest. With the new Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), industry and government are partnering together to improve the safety of products made available to Canadians.
Effective June 20, 2011, the CCPSA will introduce new requirements for industry that will help protect Canadians from unsafe consumer products. The CCPSA will cover a wide variety of consumer products including children's toys and equipment; children's jewellery; textiles; household products; and sporting goods. Items such as natural health products, food, cosmetics and drugs however will not be covered under this new legislation.
Several measures that are clearly defined in the Act will impact both large and small businesses across Canada. New key obligations include:
I. MANDATORY REPORTING
Businesses will be required to report to Health Canada any incident related to health and safety caused by a consumer product. This will provide the government with timely information about
important product safety issues.
II. RECORD RETENTION
Retailers will be required to keep records that provide enough details to know which suppliers they purchased products from and also where and when (but not to whom) products were sold.
Other suppliers who manufacturer, import, advertise, sell or test consumer products will be required to keep records to indicate from whom they obtained the product and the businesses to whom they sold it. These records would be kept by businesses as part of any regular bookkeeping practices and will help to trace products throughout the supply chain should the need arise.
To sign up for CCPSA updates and learn more about the new requirements of the Act, visit the Health Canada website.
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CBSA Moving Forward with Mandatory EDI and Mandatory HS
The Border Commercial Consultative Committee (BCCC) PARS EDI Subcommittee met in Toronto earlier this month to discuss implementation of measures over the coming months to increase the use of PARS EDI and prepare for importer Advance Trade Data under eManifest.
Following this, a special meeting of the Customs & Legislation Committee in parliament was held on March 10, 2011 to discuss CBSA's proposals and draft Customs Notices. Publication of the new Customs Notices is anticipated on or after April 1, 2010.
The following is a summary of the proposed measures being considered to increase \use of PARS EDI & implement Mandatory HS.
Mandatory EDI for Release
Currently, EDI is mandatory to request the release of goods (whether PARS or RMD) when the total number of invoice lines is 100 or less, unless a specific exception applies.
The following dates for the phased in implementation of mandatory EDI have been proposed:
* September 2011, mandatory EDI if the total number of invoice lines is 250 or less.
* February 2012, mandatory EDI if the total number of invoice lines is 500 or less.
* June 2012, mandatory EDI if the total number of invoice lines is 999 or less.
Existing exceptions will continue to be allowed, eg. OGD goods where there is no EDI release option.
Mandatory HS for All Lines
Currently, in order to obtain the release of goods, where there are commodities in a shipment that fall under more than five HS codes, a minimum of five HS codes must be provided on the release request. (Where there are five or less HS codes that are applicable, all of them must be provided.) CBSA is proposing to phase in mandatory HS for all lines in accordance with the following schedule:
* September 2011, a minimum of 10 HS codes must be provided.
* February 2012, a minimum of 20 HS codes must be provided.
* June 2012, minimum of 30 HS lines must be provided.
* January 2013, HS for all line items must be provided.
At the request of industry, CBSA is also examining the possibility of providing a "safety valve" for those circumstances where the HS code is unknown at the time the release request is submitted in order to avoid delaying the movement of the goods. CBSA has proposed the use of a new "dummy" HS code for this purpose.
Mandatory Warehouse Arrivals Using RNS
CBSA is also proposing to mandate warehouse arrivals using the Release Notification System (RNS) beginning in the highway mode.
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North American Security Perimeter
Public Consultation Process Launched by Harper Government
On March 13th, International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan and other officials of the Harper Government announced the launch of a public consultation on the shared vision for Canada-U.S. perimeter security and economic competitiveness enunciated February 4, 2011, in a joint declaration by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama.
"The Government of Canada is focusing on creating jobs and expanding economic growth through free, open and secure trade with the United States," said Minister Van Loan, speaking at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Ontario. "We are seeking Canadians' input on ways both countries can move forward to a safer, more secure and prosperous future. I invite all interested parties to make their views known."
"We are committed to consulting with Canadians on the implementation of the shared vision for perimeter security and economic competitiveness," said Minister of State Lebel, speaking at the Port of Montreal. "Our shared vision for perimeter security will protect citizens in both countries while ensuring that our common border remains open to the legitimate movement of people, goods and services."
As stated in the Declaration, the Government of Canada will engage with all levels of government and with communities, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, as well as with our citizens, on innovative approaches to security and competitiveness. This consultation will inform the development of a joint Canada-United States action plan that will set out a range of initiatives in four key areas of cooperation to promote security and support trade and economic growth.
In addition to the Declaration, the government also announced the creation of the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) that aims to make regulations in a range of sectors more compatible and less burdensome in both countries. As the work of the RCC gets under way, more information will be made available to Canadians.
For more information on the public consultation or to submit comments, you can visit the new Border Action Plan website. The public consultation period is scheduled to run from March 13 to April 21, 2011. A report summarizing the findings of the consultation will be published later in the year.
Related Information:
Chris Sands, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, a U.S. think tank, has released a new paper on the border strategy that is definitely worth reading by anyone interested in the subject of border security issues. The Canada Gambit: Will it Revive North America? provides a step-by-step granular back story to how the perimeter security declarations came to be including a lot of context about the evolution of thinking at the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama and Secretary Napolitano.
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Budget 2011: Customs Issues
With talk that an election call could come as soon as this week, one of the main questions to ask about Canada's budget for 2011, released this week by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, is whether it will ever be implemented.
That remains to be seen. In the meantime, here is a summary of details from the budget that are of interest to the trade community include the introduction of three generic HS classifications with duty rates of 0%, 8% or 20%, depending on the description of the goods.
These generic items can be used when goods are:
* non-commercial and arriving by courier or post;
* valued at less than $500; and
* not relieved from any GST/HST provisions.
Other budget items affecting the Customs Tariff are:
* a reduction in the number of tariff items to facilitate the classification of imported goods and eliminate "end-use" provisions;
* making the Customs Tariff more user-friendly, including restructuring the List of Countries and Applicable Tariff Treatments to make the various tariff treatments more transparent; and
* revoking obsolete provisions such as those under Part 2, Division 4 (Special Measures, Emergency Measures and Safeguards) which can no longer be used.
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Finding time to follow the latest international trade developments and programs of Customs agencies on both sides of the border relevant to your business can be challenging, so we hope you find this issue of our Tradelines e-newsletter to be a helpful resource in this respect. As always, we'd greatly appreciate any opinions, comments and suggestions you may have to help us improve this information resource, so please don't hesitate to let us know what you think. If you haven't already, we'd like to take this opportunity to invite you to check out our Tradelines E-News weblog where you can find current stories updated daily about business events and developments that are important to Canadian importers and exporters. Sign up for our RSS feed and get automatic updates to your favourite reader as soon as they're posted. As well, you can now follow GHY on Twitter for the latest information, updates and links to articles of interest. |
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