GHY Tradelines

(CBSA)

1. This notice is to clarify the border declaration procedure for new Canadian specification vehicles (Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) compliant) being imported into Canada from foreign countries, including the United States.

2. Please note that NEW Canadian specification vehicles bearing a valid Canadian Statement of Compliance label cannot be entered into the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) Program.

a. A vehicle is considered “NEW” when it is purchased directly from a manufacturer. Acquisition documents must clearly indicate a purchase at the manufacturing level. Vehicles purchased at the retail level in the United States are not considered “NEW”.

b. A “Canadian specification vehicle” is defined as a vehicle built to Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and bearing a Canadian Statement of Compliance to that effect.

3. When a NEW Canadian specification vehicle is presented, authorization must be confirmed by consulting Appendix F or G of Departmental Memorandum D19-12-1, Importation of Vehicles, to ensure that the importer is listed as an authorized Canadian importer for the vehicle being imported.

4. When the importer is listed in Appendix F, or the importer and manufacturer are listed in Appendix G proceed as usual as outlined in D19-12-1.

5. When the importer is not listed in Appendix F, or the importer and manufacturer are not listed in Appendix G, the entry requires an authorization letter from Transport Canada and can only be released in the presence of such a letter.

6. The entry for new Canadian specification vehicles is documented using Vehicle Import Form – Form 1 and proper care must be taken to identify a commercial importation (imported for resale) by completing section 16-A, or a casual importation (imported for personal/private use) by completing section 16-B. Companies who import for their own use (not for resale) are considered private importers. A sample of the Form 1 can be found in Appendix C of Memorandum D19-12-1.

7. If an importer is not listed on Appendix G, border service officers are asked to add a note besides box 16-A, or box 16-B (depending on the nature of the importation) indicating that a letter of authorization was received from Transport Canada, and include a photocopy of the authorization with the Form 1.

8. It is the importer’s responsibility to obtain authorization from Transport Canada prior to presenting the vehicle for importation at the border. If no acceptable authorization from Transport Canada is provided, the vehicle is to be denied entry.

9. As a reminder, Transport Canada does not regulate vehicles 15 years old or older, or buses manufactured before January 1, 1971. Such entries are documented as exempt from the RIV program and by selecting “Vehicle fifteen years old or older etc. …” under Section 16 of the Vehicle Import Form – Form 1 (box 16-C).

10. For additional information regarding this notice, please contact:

Canada Border Services Agency
OGD Programs Unit, Border Programs Directorate
150 Isabella Street, 5th floor, Ottawa ON K1A 0L8
Telephone: 613-946-0240 , Fax: 613-946-1520
 

(Bridges Trade Weekly)

Plans to establish a pan-African trade pact are well underway, as part of a broader effort to increase intra-regional trade within the continent. However, these plans also hit an early roadblock during a week-long meeting of African leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after various participants questioned such an agreement’s feasibility.

Leaders at the African Union Summit, which took place from 23 to 30 January 2012 under the theme ‘boosting intra-African trade’, endorsed a plan to set up a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 2017. The proposed CFTA would be a key component of the AU’s strategy to boost trade within the region by at least 25-30% in the next decade.

The “Declaration on boosting intra-African trade and the establishment of a continental free trade area” calls on member states, regional economic communities (RECs), and development partners to adopt the necessary measures toward the effective implementation of an Action Plan – a document produced during the AU trade ministers’ meeting in December 2011 detailing priority action clusters to address obstacles to increasing intra-African trade. Read more here.
 

(Reuters – David Stanway)

A World Trade Organisation ruling against China’s restrictions on raw material exports could force changes to some of its rare earth policies but is unlikely to yield the boost in exports of the metals that consumers want to see.

A WTO panel decided on Monday that China had violated global trading rules by curbing exports of raw materials like bauxite, coke, magnesium, manganese and zinc, which inflated prices and gave domestic Chinese firms an unfair competitive advantage.

Rare earth metals were not part of Monday’s ruling, but users of the crucial group of 17 elements used in the renewable and high-tech sectors hope China will also scrap export limits on these commodities, leading to higher volume and lower prices.

They are likely to be disappointed.  “It is still too early to say what the impact will be but I can’t see it having a big impact on prices – the main issue will still be supply and demand,” said Vivian Pang, an analyst with the Asian Metal consultancy in Beijing.   The reason, say analysts, is that even if China removes export quotas, it is unlikely to lift its production limits, which are meant to limit environmental damage from rare earths mining and keep prices – and profits – high. Read more here.
 

(Transport Topics)

Surface trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 12.7% in November from a year ago, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners rose to $76.7 billion, DOT’s Bureau of Trade Statistics said in its monthly report. Month-to-month trade, which is affected by seasonal factors, slipped% from October, BTS said.

U.S.-Canada trade rose 12.2% to $44.3 billion, while U.S.-Mexico trade improved 13.3% to $32.4 billion.

Truck imports to the United States rose 10.7% year-over-year to $26.3 billion. Exports rose 10.9% to $27.3 billion.  Rail imports rose 12.6% to $8.1 billion, while exports increased 23.6% to $4.8 billion. Pipeline imports increased 26.5% to $5.6 billion and exports jumped 48.2% to $714 million.

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. About 90% of U.S. trade among NAFTA partners moves by land.
 

(Canadian Transportation & Logistics – Lou Smyrlis)

TransCore’s Canadian Spot Market Freight Index had a record-breaking year with the highest annual volume over the last decade.

As the transport year wound down, however, December experienced  a 4% drop year-over-year and a 14% decline from November levels.   Despite the decline in the final month,  fourth-quarter freight was the highest since 2005.  An influx of shipments earlier in the quarter also resulted in an overall increase of 10% compared to the previous year.

Capacity was 7% below recorded levels for December 2011 while the equipment-to-loads ratio increased slightly for the third consecutive month.  Available equipment in December was down 11% from the prior month. Read more here.