Understanding and Responding to the Business Risk of Russian Sanctions
Anyone following the news knows that Russia is now the world’s most sanctioned country and that the sanctions are intended to cause Russia so much economic pain that it will withdraw from Ukraine. Canada has joined other countries in imposing sanctions on Russia and Russians under the Special Economic Measures Act, the Customs Tariff, and the Export and Import Permits Act and has indicated that it will impose more sanctions if necessary.[1] In addition...
read moreCanada should consider the Economic Impact of Imposing AD/CV Duties on Imports and should start with OCTG
Canadian practice has been to consider Anti-dumping/Countervailing measures (AD/CV) measures exclusively from the perspective of the domestic industry that filed the dumping complaint and ensure that any injury to this industry is offset using AD/CV duties. However, this approach does not necessarily take the best interests of the Canadian economy as a whole into consideration. That practice should stop and Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) is the product that calls out for this change....
read moreProving FTA preferential tariff eligibility: The evidentiary burden in Canada
Jean-Marc Clément Counsel, Woods LaFortune Montréal, Canada As is the case with most free trade agreements, importers simply claim preferential tariff eligibility at the time of import. This claim can later be subject to verification by the customs administration in view of determining if it was valid. Proving preferential tariff entitlement requires assembling and presenting relevant facts and documents that support the claim. But just how much evidence is necessary in order to discharge...
read moreSteel Safeguards: The First Test of Canada’s Membership in the Alliance for Multilateralism
The Government’s response to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s (“CITT”) decision in Steel Safeguards will be Canada’s first test as a new member of the France – Germany coalition to support international cooperation and a rules-based world trading system. Will Canada support international trade rules or will it give in to pressure from the Canada Steel Producers Association (“CSPA”) and impose safeguard measures on imported steel products in violation of those rules? On April...
read moreNAFTA is dead! Long live NAFTA!
Jean-Marc Clément, LL.L. – Counsel – Woods, LaFortune LPP Contact: e-mail – clement@wl-tradelaw.com; phone – 1-514-570-6144 NAFTA Redo – Trade Lawyer’s View The purpose of this article is not to paint a detailed picture of NAFTA but rather share a Canadian trade lawyer’s perspective on the evolution of a 25 year-old agreement that was recently modernized for the 21st Century. NAFTA resuscitation It’s fair to say that NAFTA received very little attention over the...
read moreNegotiation, Not Litigation is the Way to NAFTA Modernization
Rather than just negotiate NAFTA modernization, the United States is trying to use additional illegal tariffs on steel and aluminum, and now WTO litigation, to force Canada to accept its NAFTA position. The additional tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel are illegal because they exceed the U.S. WTO and NAFTA bound duty rates (i.e., the highest duty agreed between the Parties) and, thus, violate those Agreements. Canada retaliated against these U.S. tariffs with its...
read moreSteel, Aluminum, and the WTO’s Pandora’s Box – Part III
On May 31, 2018 the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross announced that the section 232 tariff on steel and the 10% tariff on aluminum would go into effect June 1st with respect to imports from Canada, the EU, and Mexico. All three had been give exceptions following the March 8th decision by the U.S. president to impose these measures pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act 1962 on the basis of...
read moreSteel, Aluminum, and the WTO’s Pandora’s Box – Part II
On Thursday March 8th, President Trump followed through on his threat to impose tariffs on all of steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) on a global basis. The Proclamations on the two products are notable in that it aims to link the tariffs to the national security of the United States. “The persistent threat of further closures of domestic steel production facilities and the “shrinking [of our] ability to meet national security production requirements in...
read moreSteel, Aluminum, and the WTO’s Pandora’s Box of National Security – Part I
President Trump has followed through on his promise to impose significant tariffs on imports of steel (25%) and aluminum (10%). Canada and Mexico were exempted in the context of the ongoing tri-lateral negotiations. As the President put it; “… we’re going to hold off to see “see whether or not we’re making a deal on NAFTA.” The threat of this action and then announcement that the duties will go into force within the next...
read moreWhat Does “Tweaking” NAFTA Mean for Importers and Exporters?
The February 13, 2017 Washington meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau was a success with respect to trade relations between the two countries. Rather than taking an aggressive anti-NAFTA stance, as some had feared, President Trump noted that the United States has an “outstanding trade relationship with Canada” and stated that his goal was to “tweak” the NAFTA with regard to Canadian trade. The apparent result of the meeting was an implicit...
read more
