Update to the Special Import Measures Act and its policy
On June 23, 2022, the Budget Implementation Act (BIA) received royal assent. This Act brought into force several legislative, regulatory, and administrative amendments to Canada’s trade remedy framework in response to recommendations from the Steel Industry-Government Trade Remedy Working Group (SWG).
Consequently, the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) has been amended and the CBSA’s related policies have been modified. These changes are aimed at strengthening Canada’s trade remedy framework and are expected to minimize the risk of massive importations (where goods are dumped prior to the imposition of provisional duties), strengthen expiry review processes, enhance the consideration of domestic workers in trade remedy proceedings, and effectively account for dumping margins during the period of investigation.
Specifically these amendments regard:
- Reducing timeframes for notifying the country of export if the CBSA receives a properly documented written complaint respecting the dumping or subsidizing of goods
- Mandating the CITT to inquire into massive importation in all investigations, and replacing the standard for imposing retroactive duties by clarifying that massive importations are likely to seriously undermine the remedial effects of duties
- Mandating the CITT to initiate expiry reviews of orders and findings before they expire, and terminating them when there is no support from the domestic industry
- Providing unions with the right to file trade remedy complaints and include the considerations of workers in assessing injury to the domestic industry
- Extending the period for which CBSA collects profitability data to a maximum of one full year prior to the Period of Investigation (POI), with data prior to the POI only used where there is insufficient data during the POI
Source: Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
View Farrow’s Trade Consulting page.
