Tax & Trade Blog

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DUTY DRAWBACK UPDATE

DUTY DRAWBACK AN IMPORTANT OPTION IN CURRENT TRADE WAR

Since we last wrote about duty drawback, there have been significant developments in the trade war between Canada and the United States (“US”).  Canada has enacted three rounds of retaliatory tariffs, while the US has also imposed a number of different tariffs, with the most recent being President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

Amid this escalating trade war with no end in sight, businesses should consider duty drawback as a mechanism to mitigate the impact of tariffs and obtain legal advice to determine eligibility.

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ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES ON VIETNAMESE GOODS

CORROSION-RESISTANT STEEL SHEETS

Canada has currently imposed eight (8) separate anti-dumping ("AD") and/or countervailing duty ("CVD") orders against products from Vietnam.  These measures effectively raise the price of targeted Vietnamese goods in the Canadian market, reducing their competitiveness in the Canadian marketplace.

Notably, one of such measures is the AD Order on Corrosion-Resistant Steel Sheets from Vietnam, issued under the Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s (the “CITT’s”) Order NQ-2019-002 (the “Order”).  However, this Order is set to expire in November 2025, which means that there may be an opportunity to advocate for their termination under the CITT’s "Sunset Review" process.

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AD/CV DUTIES: LOST IN THE TRANSLATION?

EXPORTERS TO THE US MAY HAVE LOST THEIR WAY RELYING ON CHINESE IMPORTS

We recently had a file come across our desk where a Canadian company was trading in Chinese products and marginally manufacturing them for export to the United States (US).  The company ultimately came under scrutiny from the United States Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) concerning potential duties.  But not the kind of "duties" that everyone is concerned with today (i.e., neither the "Trump Tariffs" or Canada's "Retaliatory Tariffs").

USCBP was concerned with Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties on the Chinese goods – totalling almost 200% based on the landed cost of the goods being exported to the US from Canada.

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RENEWED DUMPING DUTIES ON WINDOW WALLS

CITT CONCLUDES EXPIRY REVIEW ON CHINESE "UNITIZED WALL MODULES"

On March 19, 2025, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the “CITT”) announced an Order in Expiry Review RR-2024-001 (the “Order”), continuing its finding of material injury in respect of the dumping of Unitized Wall Modules originating in or exported from the People’s Republic of China (the “Subject Goods”). These goods are used in “curtainwall” or “window wall” systems for the exterior of multi-story buildings.

The Subject Goods

The Subject Goods are defined as:

Unitized wall modules, with or without infill, including fully assembled frames, with or without fasteners, trims, cover caps, window operators, gaskets, load transfer bars, sunshades and anchor assemblies; excluding non-unitized building envelope systems such as stick systems and point-fixing systems originating in/or exported from the People's Republic of China.

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CBSA INVESTIGATING "PET" RESIN AGAIN

POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE ("PET") RESIN FROM CHINA & PAKISTAN

On March 19, 2025, 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 polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) resin originating in or exported from the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the subsidizing of PET resin originating in or exported from China.   This investigation was prompted by a manufacturer of similar goods in Quebec.

The goods under investigation are more specifically described as: