{"id":4884,"date":"2020-11-02T09:21:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T14:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/?p=4884"},"modified":"2020-11-02T09:21:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-02T14:21:00","slug":"import-of-forced-labour-goods-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/import-of-forced-labour-goods-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Import of Forced Labour Goods Banned By Canada: What Will Change?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Along with many changes to trade legislation that took place when CUSMA\/USMCA\/T-Mec was enacted in July 2020 — Canada has also agreed to prohibit goods that were produced by forced labor. Canada joins the ranks of other nations taking a stand against forced labour: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and many others!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an article by <\/span>Stephen Pike<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, Partner and trade expert at Gowling WLG, he covered the various impacts that this regulation may have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the piece, Pike pulls a sobering statistic from the <\/span>World Vision Canada<\/a><\/strong><\/span> report: \u201cEach year, more than $34 billion of products are imported into Canada that may have been made by child or forced labour.\u201d Forbidding the import of these goods will certainly help combat the issue — all while remaining in compliance with CUSMA.<\/span><\/p>\n

The amended made to Canada\u2019s <\/span>Customs Tariff 2020 <\/a><\/strong><\/span>included the stipulation that goods that are mined, manufactured, produced by forced labour are strictly prohibited — whether it is wholly or in part.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"import<\/p>\n

What is the definition of Forced Labour in this context?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

To borrow another quote from Pike\u2019s piece in Mondaq, a publication with contributions from over 5,000 law firms from various domains: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cForced labour is commonly defined to be all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered herself or himself voluntarily. <\/span>“Wholly or in part” would reasonably include the presence of forced labour anywhere in a supply chain.<\/b><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What do Canadian importers need to do?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

There are a few major steps that Canadian importers must take in order to ensure compliance, based on Pike\u2019s recommendations. Below, we\u2019ll lay out these action items for your ease of use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n