Clearit.ca's Blog on Customs Brokerage and News Updates

The US is expanding its challenge to Canada’s dairy tariff rate quota policies under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Under the USMCA, Canada has the right to maintain 14 tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on the following types of dairy products: milk cream skim milk powder butter and cream powder industrial cheeses cheeses of all types milk powders concentrated or condensed milk yogurt and buttermilk powdered...

The CFIA has updated the import requirements for bringing shipborne dunnage into Canada by marine vessel. The update, titled Directive RMD-20-02, was made to CFIA Directive D-98-08: Entry Requirements for Wood Packaging Material into Canada, which takes effect on July 6, 2023. Shipborne dunnage is a type of wood packaging material (WPM) used in marine vessels to stabilize or brace cargo during ocean transport. Like other types of WPM, dunna...

The Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (CANFER) that the Government of Canada published back in July, 2022 have finally come into effect. As of Jan. 7, 2023, you may not import or sell composite wood products that release formaldehyde at levels exceeding the regulatory emission levels, and must meet the testing and certification requirements for laminated products. Health Canada has updated its Guidance document...

High inflation has been one of the top stories of 2022, and its impact has been felt around the world. Inflation is a measure of how much things cost. Increases in transportation costs, wages, fees, and raw materials drive up supply chain costs, which in turn drives up the cost of consumer goods. According to insurance company Zurich, many supply chain and logistics professionals believe inflation has negatively affected their business. Imp...

What were the major trends in export controls, trade sanctions, customs compliance, and import requirements in Canada and around the world? Check out the series of videos posted by global law firm Baker McKenzie. The videos were recorded across three days and feature the firm’s top international trade compliance lawyers from around the world discussing the most important topics of 2022. Export Controls Developments (USA, UK, EU, Canada) Watch...

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has (CFIA) updated the Automated Shipment Inspection Status Search Tool (ASSIST) with an enhanced tool called the CFIA Shipment Tracker for Food, Plant and Animal products. This tool will allow importers to check the status of any food, plant or animal import declared electronically in real-time. The CFIA has completed additional testing on the tool since it was first announced in the spring of 2022, includ...

Malaysia is the newest country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes Canada and nine other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This means that Canadian importers will now benefit from tariff cuts on eligible products imported from Malaysia. (The same applies for Canadian exports to Malaysia.) This is in addition to the existing tariff eliminations between the other Asia-Paci...

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced that the target implementation date for CARM Release 2 will be October 2023. What is CARM? The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) project is a multi-year initiative that will transform the collection of duties and taxes for goods imported into Canada, and modernize and streamline the process of importing commercial goods. The benefits of CARM ...

The Canadian Government has announced several initiatives in support of the Green Shipping Challenge, which encourages governments, ports, and companies to commit to transitioning to more environmentally sustainable methods of shipping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Green Shipping Challenge was organized by the U.S. and Norway as part of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). Countries, ports, and companies made mo...

The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SUPPR), which bans the import, manufacture, and sale of plastic checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws in Canada will begin to go into effect on Dec. 20, 2022. The SUPR are part of the Government’s plan to address pollution, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and meets its target of zero plastic waste by 2030. The Regulations cover six categories ...