WT/L/1065

8 July 2019

(19-4522) Page: 1/7

General Council Original: English/French 23-24 July 2019

CANADIAN TARIFF TREATMENT FOR COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES

2019 REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ON THE TRADE-RELATED PROVISIONS OF CARIBCAN

The following communication, dated 4 July 2019, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Canada.

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1. CARIBCAN is an economic and trade development assistance program for the Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories established as a result of a commitment by Canada at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Nassau in October 1985.

1.2. The objectives of CARIBCAN are to enhance Commonwealth Caribbean trade and export earnings, improve the trade and economic development prospects of the region, promote new investment opportunities, and encourage enhanced economic integration and co-operation. The main feature of CARIBCAN is the unilateral extension by Canada, beginning on 15 June 1986, of duty-free access to the Canadian market for most commodities originating in Commonwealth Caribbean countries.

1.3. On 28 November 1986, a decision by the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) waived until 15 June 1998, the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the General Agreement, "only to the extent necessary to permit the Government of Canada to provide duty-free treatment to eligible imports of Commonwealth Caribbean countries benefiting from the provisions of CARIBCAN, without being required to extend the same duty-free treatment to like products of any other contracting party." (L/6102). On 28 July 2015 the WTO extended the CARIBCAN waiver (WT/L/958) until 31 December 2023. The conditions associated with the CARIBCAN waiver remain unchanged.

1.4. This report is being made in accordance with paragraph 3 of the WTO waiver of 28 July 2015 and Article IX of the WTO Agreement.

2 COUNTRY COVERAGE

2.1. The Customs Tariff lists 18 countries or dependent territories which are eligible to receive the duty-free benefits accorded under CARIBCAN, namely: , Antigua-Barbuda, Bahamas, , , , the , the , , , , , , St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, , and the . No country or territory additions or deletions from this list have occurred since CARIBCAN was enacted on 15 June 1986.

3 PRODUCT COVERAGE

3.1. There have been no amendments to CARIBCAN product coverage since the changes made in February 1998. WT/L/1065

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3.2. Today, product exclusions from the duty-free provisions of CARIBCAN are:

− Goods of HS Chapters 50 to 65 inclusive;

− Goods covered by tariff items with "over access commitment" rates of duty established in the "tariffication" process.

4 RULES OF ORIGIN

4.1. The rules of origin for the purposes of the Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff (CCCT) treatment are set out in regulations enacted pursuant to Section 16 of the Customs Tariff.

4.2. To qualify for the duty-free treatment accorded to Commonwealth Caribbean countries, at least sixty per cent of the ex-factory price of the goods as packed for shipment to Canada must originate in one or more beneficiary countries or Canada. The sixty per cent qualifying content may be cumulated from various CARIBCAN beneficiary countries or Canada. The goods must be finished in the beneficiary country in the form in which they are imported into Canada. Pursuant to the Proof of Origin Regulations, either a duly completed Certificate of Origin, Form A, or a written statement of origin signed by the exporter, must be presented to Customs at the time of release, accounting or refund.

5 TRADE UNDER CARIBCAN

5.1. Canada-CARIBCAN trade statistics are annexed in a series of tables to this report and include 2018 trade data. In general, these trade statistics indicate that:

− In 2018, 98 per cent of total Canadian imports from CARIBCAN beneficiaries entered Canada free of duty. As shown in Annex III, just over $1.0 billion of this trade entered under MFN free rates while $4.2 million entered duty-free under General Preferential Tariff (GPT). $34.8 million of this trade entered under the preferential CARIBCAN tariff (CCCT). Annex IV shows the top twenty-five commodity imports benefiting from the CARIBCAN preference.

− Total Canada-CARIBCAN trade (exports plus imports) was CAN $2.1 billion in 2018. The value of Canadian imports from the region has risen from $1.0 billion in 2008 to $1.1 billion in 2018. The value of Canadian exports to CARIBCAN countries has increased from $904 million in 2008 to $1.1 billion in 2018.

6 STATISTICAL ANNEXES

Annex I: Total Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2008 – 2018

Annex II: Total Canadian exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2008 – 2018

Annex III: 2018 Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment

Annex IV: Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada under the CARIBCAN Duty-Free Tariff Treatment (CCCT) in 2018

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ANNEX I

Total Canadian Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2008 – 2018 (thousands of Canadian dollars) Country 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Anguilla 211 308 320 271 272 606 360 226 29 105 59 5,468 446 422 414 1,741 625 448 466 216 282 184 Bahamas 73,519 30,995 55,121 21,881 146,573 44,069 92,051 35,720 13,641 12,901 4,834 Barbados 8,498 8,663 9,680 6,921 9,578 18,851 12,942 11,557 11,888 12,173 14,212 Belize 10,842 7,247 6,177 7,516 3,221 2,579 1,777 3,786 2,080 1,904 1,941 Bermuda 1,910 10,968 1,389 979 29,015 17,709 31,013 35,319 38,650 30,160 1,133 British Virgin Islands 13,246 720 622 821 1,102 28,258 2,529 1,520 938 2,868 1,392 Cayman Islands 193 645 304 778 415 210 215 662 2,102 2,299 6,373 Dominica 337 390 145 289 264 1,153 356 728 231 397 187

Grenada 877 509 601 1,718 2,268 1,904 2,018 2,211 1,577 819 1,539 WT/L/1065

Guyana 225,084 300,318 290,736 394,657 453,997 486,488 335,752 271,554 666,959 661,486 573,917 -

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Jamaica 327,580 164,764 161,934 275,412 101,951 205,772 264,949 241,310 204,888 191,258 141,791

- Montserrat 139 69 327 291 197 36 333 233 59 164 211

St. Christopher (Kitts) 5,236 7,033 8,092 9,166 9,638 8,784 6,249 4,072 2,971 3,503 2,710 and Nevis St. Lucia 155 2,289 203 273 268 349 423 509 692 688 265 St. Vincent and the 136 219 162 259 170 173 126 110 143 71 1,888 Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago 341,400 314,955 459,179 388,961 246,424 188,761 557,843 342,388 189,494 176,076 334,882 Turks and Caicos Islands 1,933 299 112 119 186 254 416 843 148 107 36 Total: 1,016,764 850,837 995,526 1,110,726 1,007,280 1,006,581 1,309,800 953,214 1,136,706 1,097,261 1,087,554

Source: Statistics Canada.

ANNEX II

Total Canadian Exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2008-2018 (thousands of Canadian dollars) Country 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Anguilla 2,590 1,833 865 2,318 607 850 1,007 1,271 1,612 1,873 2,868 Antigua and Barbuda 21,194 20,095 19,211 9,590 18,273 15,172 10,112 9,990 8,495 8,328 12,318 Bahamas 226,436 146,232 150,620 127,275 486,780 189,761 242,015 68,832 114,895 214,579 395,061 Barbados 45,392 55,448 36,675 44,248 58,853 147,317 187,559 66,607 37,412 33,649 33,119 Belize 6,594 5,544 5,536 4,976 7,464 7,295 19,133 9,258 10,597 14,799 10,135 Bermuda 61,823 56,630 37,647 73,760 22,122 33,658 29,914 36,408 67,260 44,494 41,076 British Virgin Islands 8,694 3,271 22,175 48,168 1,619 2,536 28,628 12,399 3,531 3,774 3,976 Cayman Islands 14,019 6,403 6,224 6,993 8,189 58,645 8,136 8,345 9,674 23,332 22,732 Dominica 5,619 4,386 4,447 3,748 3,864 4,595 6,157 4,551 3,452 5,717 8,288 Grenada 5,653 5,535 5,092 4,423 5,288 4,537 5,648 5,786 7,608 8,664 6,168 Guyana 20,318 27,705 28,076 35,385 25,201 17,902 25,081 23,849 34,114 26,056 28,800

Jamaica 187,298 117,954 125,076 106,081 129,416 114,177 111,919 104,329 101,674 112,932 122,808 WT/L/1065

Montserrat 383 272 226 325 380 264 164 232 256 503 155 -

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St. Christopher (Kitts) 7,930 6,242 6,706 5,678 6,524 7,355 9,116 6,756 6,056 8,474 6,017

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and Nevis St. Lucia 12,309 10,040 35,745 8,476 9,183 10,247 11,202 9,925 9,561 8,303 7,784

St. Vincent and the 7,688 11,583 10,788 6,742 6,538 8,760 13,045 9,530 6,201 4,964 3,953 Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago 262,673 251,109 289,026 332,950 319,383 333,293 307,597 293,762 205,405 292,312 388,882 Turks and Caicos 7,044 6,181 4,290 1,814 2,076 1,738 2,574 3,674 2,697 4,481 3,723 Islands Total: 903,657 736,463 788,425 822,950 1,111,760 958,102 1,019,007 675,504 630,500 817,234 1,097,863

Source: Statistics Canada. Notes: Includes Canadian domestic exports only.

ANNEX III (i)

Duty Free 2018 Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment (in Canadian dollars) Country Total Imports MFN Free GPT Free Caribcan (CCCT) Total Free Total Free as % Free of Total Imports Anguilla 59,272 50,438 0 0 50,438 85% Antigua and Barbuda 184,117 89,272 0 61,910 151,182 82% Bahamas 4,833,539 2,228,544 0 572,191 2,800,735 58% Barbados 14,211,600 2,268,315 0 6,839,588 9,107,903 64% Belize 1,941,125 1,207,413 319,563 249,865 1,776,841 92% Bermuda 1,133,025 220,601 0 183,009 403,610 36% British Virgin Islands 1,392,381 1,050,916 0 26 1,050,942 75% Cayman Islands 6,372,730 6,350,662 0 256 6,350,918 100% Dominica 187,418 151,982 0 0 151,982 81% Grenada 1,538,565 1,113,664 0 405,344 1,519,008 99% Guyana 573,917,298 562,713,193 3,866,888 4,613,581 571,193,662 100%

WT/L/1065 Jamaica 141,790,631 114,931,965 0 18,996,558 133,928,523 94%

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Montserrat 210,602 164,097 0 0 164,097 78% 5

St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis 2,709,881 2,326,831 0 0 2,326,831 86% -

Saint Lucia 264,598 137,231 0 8,366 145,597 55%

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1,888,303 1,876,718 0 0 1,876,718 99% Trinidad and Tobago 334,881,643 325,540,710 0 2,908,629 328,449,339 98% Turks and Caicos Islands 36,006 34,469 0 0 34,469 96% Total 1,087,552,734 1,022,457,021 4,186,451 34,839,323 1,061,482,795 98%

Source: Statistics Canada.

ANNEX III (ii)

Dutiable 2018 imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment (in Canadian dollars) Country Total Imports MFN Dutiable GPT Dutiable Caribcan Total Dutiable Total Dutiable as Dutiable % of Total Imports Anguilla 59,272 8,834 0 0 8,834 15% Antigua and Barbuda 184,117 32,935 0 0 32,935 18% Bahamas 4,833,539 2,032,804 0 0 2,032,804 42% Barbados 14,211,600 5,103,697 0 0 5,103,697 36% Belize 1,941,125 164,284 0 0 164,284 8% Bermuda 1,133,025 729,415 0 0 729,415 64% British Virgin Islands 1,392,381 341,439 0 0 341,439 25% Cayman Islands 6,372,730 21,812 0 0 21,812 0% Dominica 187,418 35,436 0 0 35,436 19% Grenada 1,538,565 19,557 0 0 19,557 1%

WT/L/1065 Guyana 573,917,298 2,689,294 34,342 0 2,723,636 0%

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Jamaica 141,790,631 7,862,108 0 0 7,862,108 6%

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Montserrat 210,602 46,505 0 0 46,505 22% -

St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis 2,709,881 383,050 0 0 383,050 14% 264,598 119,001 0 0 119,001 45% Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1,888,303 11,585 0 0 11,585 1% Trinidad and Tobago 334,881,643 6,432,304 0 0 6,432,304 2% Turks and Caicos Islands 36,006 1,537 0 0 1,537 4% Total 1,087,552,734 26,035,597 34,342 0 26,069,939 2%

Source: Statistics Canada.

WT/L/1065

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ANNEX IV

Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada Under CARIBCAN Duty-Free Tariff Treatment (CCCT) in 2018 (in Canadian Dollars) HS Tariff Description Imports under CARIBCAN Treatment (CCCT) 22084010 Rum 7,839,067 22071010 Undenatured ethyl alcohol >= 80% vol for use in the manufacture of 6,651,555 spirituous or alcoholic beverages 21039020 Mixed condiments and mixed seasonings 2,765,201 20089930 Akalas, akees, anchovy pears, apple-pears, avocados, bananas, banana 2,748,520 chips (thin banana slices fried or otherwise prepared whether or not salted, sweetened or otherwise flavoured), bread fruit, carambolas, chayotes, cherimoyas (Jamaica apples)…. 07143000 Yams (Dioscorea spp.) 2,343,408 22029090 Other [nectars] 1,434,631 19059039 Other [bread] 1,149,772 21039090 Other [sauces] 877,716 22021000 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added 813,851 sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured 19053192 Sweet biscuits containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, in packages 785,453 of a weight not exceeding 1.36 kg each, over access commitment 73269090 Other [articles of iron or steel] 749,812 19059043 Other biscuits: Containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, in packages 618,224 of a weight not exceeding 1.36 kg each, over access commitment 03061100 Rock lobster and other sea crawfish (Palinurus spp., Panulirus spp., Jasus 571,882 spp.) 42031000 Articles of apparel [of leather or composition leather] 377,336 12119010 Herbal "tea" in bags for individual servings 319,915 19021929 Other [pasta, containing flour and water only] 287,325 19059049 Other biscuits [Containing less than 25% by weight of wheat] 247,064 20059990 Other [Other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables] 230,639 20089710 Consisting of two or more of akalas, akees, anchovy pears, apple-pears, 225,559 avocados, bananas, bread fruit, carambolas, chayotes, cherimoyas (Jamaica apples), citrus fruit, dasheens (taros), dates, durians, feijoas, figs, fu quas (balsam pears), genipes, ginger, guavas, imbus, jujubes, kiwi fruit, lady apples, litchis (lychees), loquats, magueys, mammees (mammeas), mangoes, mangosteens, manioc (cassava or yucca root), papaws (papayas), passion fruit, pawpaws, persimmons, pineapples, plantains, plumcots, prickly pears, pomegranates, quinces, rangpurs, sapatas, star-apples, sweet potatoes, tamarinds, tangelos, uglifruit, watermelons or yams 09081200 Nutmeg: Crushed or ground 221,183 17049090 Other [sugar confectionary, not containing cocoa] 216,699 83061090 Other [bells, gongs and the like, not including church bells] 194,854 09081100 Nutmeg: Neither crushed nor ground 184,191 07142000 Sweet potatoes 168,608 04063010 Processed cheese, not grated or powdered, within access commitment 147,299

Source: Statistics Canada import data.

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