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

Last month, CUSMA/USMA/T-MEC was officially enacted. This FTA can also be referred to as the “New NAFTA”.  (Read about it here: CUSMA/USMCA: Meet The New NAFTA and CUSMA: Rules Of Origin & Certifying Origin) In a survey conducted by DHL Express, International Trade Impact and Outlook, of over 2000 small and medium-sized companies, about 50% states that the pandemic made them more wary of global trade. Additionally and unfortunately...

What is a “Reason to Believe” deadline?  As defined in Memorandum D11-6-6, refers to the case in which incorrect information provided for an imported shipment (origin, classification, value of duty, etc.) are deemed believable and not the fault of the importer. In this scenario, the importer or broker may submit the corrections to the documentation within a 90-day period.  On the deadline, the memorandum states: “For example, the dat...

Most working professionals are doing their work from a home office, as a result of current times. Importers (and many other people across the logistics sector) are no exception to this, as stipulated by government directives.  As such, importers must be hyper-vigilant in order to prevent mistakes. As trade law & sales tax firm lawyer, Cyndee Todgham Cherniak, states: “[...] Business is not as usual. Importers have to adjust [...]. Most...

As an importer, it is your responsibility to make yourself aware of the details surrounding CUSMA. This agreement, between Canada, the US, and Mexico, will replace NAFTA as of July 1st, 2020.  Last week, we published a quick introduction to the agreement, where we identify some of the criteria and the main differences between this and NAFTA. You can read it here: CUSMA/USMCA: Meet The New NAFTA.  It is recommended that readers also consul...

Health Canada was quick to act and streamline the movement of protective equipment, sanitizer products, medical devices, and other health-related goods, in the advent of the pandemic. They did this by leaning-out the regulatory requirements for the manufacturing and importing of these goods. Of course, Canada moved on this very promptly, citing an urgent need for these goods to combat the impacts of COVID-19 in the country.  In a piece publis...

By now, it’s clear that the pandemic will continue to have an impact on Canadian trade (and the global trade market at large). As such, we can expect some shifts on the Canadian economy as well.  We’ve seen a multitude of regulatory and operational issues pop up as a result of COVID-19. In order to better prepare for what’s to come, we wanted to take a look at some of the underlying and overt impacts on the importing, trade, and supply ...

In a mid-COVID market, Canadian importers are finding themselves operating on limited funds. However, Canada’s import and export controls are still required, as they have not been relaxed as a cautionary measure to protect businesses.  All things considered, the consumer demand for quick deliveries has not been curbed all that much by the pandemic. So the responsibility to act fast still rests on the shoulders of Canadian importers -- or th...

CBSA has announced a multi-year initiative, the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management Project (or CARM). The intention of this project is to modify the way that the collection of duties and taxes for imported goods takes place. CBSA promises that CARM will transform the way in which commercial goods are imported into Canada.  In an infographic shared by the agency, they lay out the benefits of the program as follows:  Make it easier for...

A new reference document for HS codes and classifications for critical medical supplies has been released. As such, we’ll be doing a quick overview of the document!  We will also briefly touch on Canada’s Interim Order Respecting the Importation and Sale of Medical Devices for Use in Relation to COVID-19. As the name suggests, it provides medical device manufacturers and importers with certain exemptions in order to increase the availabil...

The Canada Border Services agency (CBSA) has released a notice regarding the importation of medical supplies during the COVID-19 Crisis. The purpose of this notice is to inform the commercial importing community of the tariff classification numbers as well as eligibility for Duty and Tax relief during an emergency such as COVID-19. The entire Notice can be read here (https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn20-12-eng.html) The Followin...