On November 20, 2014, Gordon LaFortune, Catherine Walsh, and Michael Woods attended a reception at the Rideau Club in Ottawa marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT). The CITT was established in 1988 and began operations in January 1989, is the work of the amalgamation of four federal tribunals – the Tariff Board, the Canadian Import Tribunal, the Textile and Clothing Board, and the Procurement Review Board of Canada. An independent quasi-judicial body operating within Canada’s trade remedy system, the main legislation governing the work of the CITT is the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act (CITT Act), the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), the Customs Act, the Excise Tax Act, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Rules. As the trade remedies area (anti-dumping, countervail and safeguards) is one of the most visible of the CITT’s mandates, it is interesting to note that Canada was the first country to enact anti-dumping legislation. That was in 1904 and following the completion of the GATT Kennedy Round Negotiations, Canada set up the Anti-Dumping Tribunal (ADT) in 1968. The ADT became the Canadian Import Tribunal and then the CITT. The National Commodity Tax, Customs and Trade Section of the Canadian Bar Association organized and hosted the reception and Woods, LaFortune LLP was pleased to serve as one of the sponsors for the successful event. We congratulate current and former Members, the many trade lawyers who have appeared before the CITT, and especially the hard-working and very effective staff members, past and present.
Woods, LaFortune LLP have appeared in a large number of trade remedies matters before the CITT (see https://www.wl-tradelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Complete-List-of-Trade-Remedies-Cases.pdf) in addition to several government procurement matters.
