Canada-U.S. Blog

Trade Lawyers Cyndee Todgham Cherniak and Susan K. Ross

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By: LexSage

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Heather Innes
Su Ross
Cyndee Todgham Cherniak
Anumeet Toor
Windsor Law, University of Windsor

Latest from Canada-U.S. Blog

        CUSMA/USMCA will come into force on July 1, 2020, at which time increased and more complex Regional Value Content (RVC) requirements for both vehicles and automotive parts will be effective.  The RVC for passenger vehicles and lights trucks will increase to 66% on July 1 and for heavy trucks, it will be 60%.  The chart below summarizes the transition of those requirements to their final RVC of 75% and 70%, respectively.…
The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA or USMCA) will introduce new and complex requirements for the automotive industry.  Not only will vehicle producers face increased Regional Value Content requirements starting July 1, 2020, but they will be required to meet the following requirements: minimum purchase requirements for North American steel and aluminum; labour value content requirements that at lease a certain portion of each vehicle be produced using high-wage labour (US $16/C $20.88 average wage rate);…
The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), also referred to as the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), comes into effect on July 1, 2020.  Are you ready? The full CUSMA Agreement was signed in November of 2018, and later amended in December 2019.  In April of this year each of the three parties notified that they had completed their respective ratification processes.  This meant that the agreement could be implemented on July 1. The CUSMA Uniform Regulations containing…
On May 20, 2020, Prince Edward Island’s Premier, Dennis King, announced that the province will begin the approval process for seasonal residents starting on June 1, 2020. In order to be approved, seasonal residents must show that they are the owners of the residence in P.E.I., and must also guarantee that they will self-isolate for 14 days. Members of the NEXUS program must be very cautious when entering P.E.I. as seasonal residents. The CBSA requires…
On March 26, 2020, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) notified certain importers under verification that the CBSA was temporarily suspending trade compliance activities due to COVID-19 – see The CBSA Temporarily Suspends Trade Compliance Activities due to COVID-19. On May 19, 2020, importers received an update from the CBSA informing external stakeholders that the suspension has been extended until further notice.  A CBSA Verification Officer wrote the following in an email: “The details…
Canada has indicated that the Canada-U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travel until June 21, 2020.  “Non-essential” travel includes travel that is considered as tourism or recreational in nature. The restrictions may be extended again.  On March 21, the restrictions on essential travel across the border were implemented for a 30-day period in an effort to stem the transmission of COVID-19.  The 30-day period was thereafter extended to May 21, 2020. The restriction may…
The Canadian Minister of National Revenue (“Minister”) may, under subsection 231.2(3) of the Income Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.) and subsection 289(3) of the Excise Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-15, seek information from third parties in order to look for tax cheats. The request by the Minister is known as an “Unnamed Persons Requirement” or “UPR”.  An UPR is filed by the Minister (the Attorney General of Canada on behalf of…
It is unclear whether the import prohibition set out in the Customs Tariff for Tariff Code Item 9897 prohibits goods made in China’s detention camps.  Tariff Item 9897 prohibits the importation of a number of goods, including “[g]oods manufactured or produced wholly or in part by prison labour”.  Unlike the United States, Canada’s import prohibition does not extend the import prohibition to “goods manufactured by forced labour”. Under Canadian law, any goods can be imported…
The Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) has created a new dedicated Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (“CUMSA”) web-page on which implementation information will be posted to assist importers and exporters. CUSMA / USMCA / NAFTA 2.0 is scheduled to enter into force on July 1, 2020 and there will be no transition period.  This means that importers and exporters must be aware of new developments and must update their compliance processes and systems quickly. The CBSA has…
On May 6, 2020, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) published Customs Notice 20-19 to provide information for Certain Goods Remission Order (COVID-19), SOR-2020-101 (“Remission Order”) under the Customs Tariff.  In order to help the fight against COVID-19, the Remission Order allows for the relief of customs duty for eligible PPE and medical supply goods which were imported on or after May 5, 2020. What goods are entitled to duty relief? The CBSA has provided two lists…