Tax & Trade Blog

The Canadian government can and does impose sanctions against foreign States and non-state entities through a complex formula involving several different Acts and regulation sets.  Navigating through this myriad of rules can be daunting.

Overview of Canada’s Sanctions Regime

Global Affairs Canada is the overall regulator of Canadian sanctions, and has just released some long-awaited clarifications on the scope of Canada’s current sanctions, which comes in response to the Canadian Senate’s 2023 Standing Committee Report on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. 

Canada-India trade and trade relations have plunged, stopped in their collective tracks by a Canadian government allegation that India may have been involved in the assassination of a Canadian Sikh activist.

In the balance is whether a Canada-India Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) will ever come to fruition, and Canada’s growing trade with this aspiring superpower.

Here are the high points on why and why not a FTA with India would be a good thing for Canada.

On April 22, 2024, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) issued a Notice of Initiation of Investigation under the Special Import Measures Act (“SIMA”) in respect of the alleged dumping and subsidizing of certain pea protein from China.  This investigation was prompted by a joint complaint filed by two manufacturers in Manitoba. 

The goods under investigation are more specifically described as: 

High protein content (“HPC”) pea protein originating in or exported from the People’s Republic of China in all physical forms regardless of packaging, with a minimum pea protein content of 65 percent on a dry weight basis calculated using a Jones factor of 6.25 (the “Subject Goods”).  

On March 20, 2024, Public Safety Canada (“PSC”) released updated guidance (“Guidance”) on the application of the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the “FCLA”).

While PSC’s update is aimed to provide clarity, it left many ambiguities, particularly regarding the definitions of “consolidated financial statements”, “asset” and “control”.  These terms play a critical role in determining whether a foreign entity may fall within the reporting requirements of the FCLA.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the “CITT”) announced an Order in Expiry Review RR-2023-001 on March 20, 2024 (the “Order”), continuing its finding made on April 23, 2018, in Expiry Review NQ-2017-005, in respect of the dumping and subsidizing of all dry wheat pasta originating in or exported from the Republic of Türkiye (the “Subject Goods”).

What is an Expiry Review

Expiry Reviews are conducted jointly by the Canada Border Services Agency (the “CBSA”) and the CITT to review prior Anti-Dumping Duty (“ADD”) or Countervailing Duty (“CVD”) findings made by the CITT (the “Findings”) under the Special Import Measures Act (“SIMA”). These Expiry Reviews generally occur every 5 years following the original finding or subsequent continuation orders (“Orders”).