The recently announced 2017 Federal Budget includes several measures that will be of interest to importers and exporters. Here are some highlights:
- Tariffs eliminated on a broad range of agri-food processing ingredients.
- Changes to origin rules to allow more qualifying apparel imports from least developed countries.
- Excise taxes & Excise duties are higher than projected, a direct consequence of the delayed implementation of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the uncertainty surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
- Customs import duties are projected to remain unchanged in 2016–17 and to decrease by $0.5 billion, or 8.5 per cent, in 2017–18.
- Elimination of the surtax on domestic tobacco manufacturers.
For more information, contact Brian Rowe, Director – Customs Compliance & Regulatory Affairs.