Vol. 148, No. 21 — October 8, 2014

Registration

SOR/2014-222 September 26, 2014

CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRIBUNAL ACT

Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations

P.C. 2014-984 September 25, 2014

His 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), 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 under paragraph 20(a) of the Act or an inquiry into a complaint referred to in any of paragraphs 27(1)(a) to (a.2) and (a.4) to (a.96) 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 section 38 of the Canada–Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, chapter 14 of the Statutes of Canada, 2014, comes into force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the regulations.)

Issues

The Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement (CHFTA) was signed on November 5, 2013, and the Canada–Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act received Royal Assent on June 19, 2014. Regulations are also necessary to fully implement the CHFTA in Canada.

The Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations and the Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations implement Canada’s rights and obligations relating to the bilateral emergency action and procurement inquiry provisions and need to be amended to account for the implementation of the CHFTA.

Background

Bilateral emergency action provisions are a standard feature of all Canadian free trade agreements to date. Such provisions represent a temporary safety valve in the event that Canadian producers face injurious imports from free trade agreement partners during a specified transition period. Under the CHFTA, bilateral emergency action consists of either a suspension of the further reduction of the rate of duty for a concerned product, or an increase in the rate of the duty back to the non-preferential rate. Such action may be taken only after the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) has conducted an inquiry and has determined that increased imports are a principal cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to domestic producers of like or directly competitive goods, according to the bilateral emergency action provisions of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act.

The procurement inquiry provisions 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 free trade agreements.

Objectives

To fully implement Canada’s obligations under the CHFTA in relation to the bilateral emergency and procurement inquiry provisions.

Description

Subsection 5(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations is amended to ensure that the 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 Honduras are a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof (e.g. the effect of imported goods on prices of like or directly competitive goods in Canada).

Subsections 3(1), (2), 6(3) and 7(1), and sections 5 and 10 of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations are amended to ensure that the Tribunal considers all the necessary factors when conducting a procurement bid inquiry that are subject to the terms of the CHFTA (e.g. a complaint alleging the improper evaluation of a proposal with respect to a government procurement bid).

Consultation

In January 2001, the Government of Canada launched public consultations with Canadian provinces and territories, along with businesses, industry associations and the general public, to gauge Canadians’ interests and sensitivities in launching free trade negotiations with Central America. Free trade negotiations with Honduras and three other Central American nations (El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala) were launched in November 2001. A decision was taken in 2010 to pursue a free trade agreement with Honduras alone and negotiations concluded successfully in 2011. Stakeholders were kept informed of developments throughout the negotiations. A free trade agreement with Honduras is supported by a broad cross-section of Canadian business stakeholders.

Rationale

This proposal is required to fully implement obligations set out in the CHFTA.

Canada has already implemented similar regulations for purposes of its other bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Canada-Israel FTA, the Canada-Chile FTA, the Canada-Costa Rica FTA, the Canada-European Free Trade Association FTA, the Canada-Peru FTA, the Canada-Colombia FTA, the Canada-Jordan FTA and the Canada-Panama FTA.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The Tribunal will administer and interpret these regulations in the course of its responsibilities in respect of applying emergency safeguard measures and conducting procurement inquiries.

Contact

Rebecca Marshall-Pritchard
International Trade Policy Division
Department of Finance
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G5
Telephone: 613-369-4021