Vol. 144, No. 4 — February 17, 2010

Registration

SOR/2010-24 February 2, 2010

CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRIBUNAL ACT

Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations

P.C. 2010-106 February 2, 2010

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, pursuant to section 40 (see footnote a) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act (see footnote b), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRIBUNAL REGULATIONS

AMENDMENT

1. The portion of subsection 5(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations (see footnote 1) before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

5. (1) For the purposes of determining, during an inquiry into a matter referred to the Tribunal pursuant to paragraph 20(a) of the Act or an inquiry into a complaint referred to in paragraph 27(1)(a), (a.1), (a.2), (a.4), (a.5), (a.9), (a.91), (a.92), (a.93) or (b) of the Act, whether the goods that are the subject of the reference or complaint are being imported as set out in that paragraph, the Tribunal shall examine, among other factors,

COMING INTO FORCE

2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the regulations.)

Issue and objectives

The Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) was signed on January 26, 2008, and the Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Bill C-2) received Royal Assent on April 29, 2009. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) recently completed their domestic procedures and the CEFTA entered into force on July 1, 2009.

The Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) was signed on May 29, 2008, and the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Bill C-24) received Royal Assent on June 18, 2009. The CPFTA entered into force on August 1, 2009.

The Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations will implement Canada’s rights and obligations relating to the bilateral emergency action provisions under the CEFTA and the CPFTA. The Regulations Amending theCanadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations will allow the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to consider and make findings with respect to complaints concerning government procurements that are subject to the terms of the CPFTA.

Description and rationale

Bilateral emergency action provisions are a standard feature of all Canadian free trade agreements to date. Under the CEFTA, the emergency action consists of an increase in the rate of customs duty for the concerned product; under the CPFTA, the emergency action consists of either a suspension of the further reduction of the rate of duty for the concerned product, or an increase in the rate of the duty. Such provisions represent a useful safety valve for Canadian producers faced with injurious imports from free trade agreement partners during a specified transition period.

The CEFTA provides for a transition period of five years or the tariff phase-out period, whichever is longer, during which an emergency action may be taken once and for no longer than three years. The CPFTA provides for a transition period of seven years, during which an emergency action may be taken twice. Each emergency action may not exceed three years. Under both agreements, such action, in the form of increased customs duties, may be taken only after the Canadian International Trade Tribunal has conducted an inquiry and determined that increased imports are a principal cause or a threat of serious injury, pursuant to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act (the CITT Act), to domestic producers, according to the bilateral emergency action provisions of the CITT Act.

Subsection 5(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations will be amended to ensure that the Canadian International Trade Tribunal considers the relevant factors set out under section 5 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations during a bilateral emergency action inquiry to determine if imports from the EFTA countries or Peru are causing or threatening to cause serious injury (e.g. the effect of imported goods on prices of like or directly competitive goods in Canada).

Sections of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations will also be amended to provide the Tribunal the means by which to consider and make findings with respect to complaints concerning government procurements that are subject to the terms of the CPFTA (e.g. a complaint alleging the improper evaluation of a proposal with respect to a government procurement bid). As the CEFTA has no procurement chapter, the Regulations do not need to reflect this free trade agreement.

Consultation

The proposed amendments to the Regulations were drafted in consultation with the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. The Government of Canada launched free trade negotiations with the EFTA countries on October 9, 1998, and with Peru on June 7, 2007. Canadian manufacturers, importers and exporters were consulted extensively and kept informed of developments throughout both negotiations, including on issues concerning emergency actions and government procurement. Both free trade agreements are supported by a broad cross-section of Canadian stakeholders.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The Regulations will be administered by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.

Contact

Scott Winter
International Trade Policy Division
Department of Finance
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G5
Telephone: 613-992-4418

Footnote a
S.C. 2002, c. 19, s. 6

Footnote b
R.S., c. 47 (4th Supp.)

Footnote 1
SOR/89-35

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