Vol. 148, No. 27 — December 31, 2014

Registration

SOR/2014-302 December 12, 2014

CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRIBUNAL ACT

Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations

P.C. 2014-1457 December 12, 2014

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, pursuant to section 40 (see footnote a) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRIBUNAL REGULATIONS

AMENDMENT

1. The portion of subsection 5(1) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations (see footnote 1) before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

5. (1) For the purposes of determining, during an inquiry into a matter referred to the Tribunal under paragraph 20(a) of the Act or an inquiry into a complaint referred to in paragraph 27(1)(a) to (a.2) and (a.4) to (a.97)(b) or subsection 30.28(1) of the Act, whether the goods that are the subject of the reference or complaint are being imported as set out in that provision, the Tribunal must examine, among other factors,

COMING INTO FORCE

2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which section 47 of the Canada — Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, chapter 28 of the Statutes of Canada, 2014, comes into force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the regulations.)

Issues

The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) was signed on September 22, 2014, and the Canada — Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act received Royal Assent on November 26, 2014. Regulations are also necessary to fully implement the CKFTA in Canada. The CKFTA will come into force on January 1, 2015.

The Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations and the Regulations Amending the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations implement Canada’s rights and obligations relating to the bilateral emergency action and procurement inquiry provisions and need to be amended to account for the implementation of the CKFTA.

Background

Bilateral safeguard measures are a standard feature of all Canadian free trade agreements implemented to date. Such provisions represent a temporary safety valve in the event that Canadian producers face injurious imports from free trade agreement partners during a specified transition period. Under the CKFTA, bilateral safeguard measures consist of either a suspension of the further reduction of the rate of duty for a concerned product, or an increase in the rate of the duty back to the level of the non-preferential rate. Such action may be taken only after the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) has conducted an inquiry and determined that increased imports are a principal cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to domestic producers of like or directly competitive goods, according to the bilateral safeguard provisions of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act (CITT Act).

The CKFTA also provides for the imposition of provisional emergency measures when critical circumstances exist (i.e. when the Tribunal is convinced that there is clear evidence that imports of an originating good from Korea have increased as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under the CKFTA; that those imports constitute a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry; and that a delay in imposing safeguard measures would cause damage that would be difficult to repair). The Canada — Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act amended the CITT Act to include this new framework. If domestic producers wish to claim “critical circumstances,” they will be required to do so as part of the regular complaint process to the Tribunal. The Tribunal will then make a preliminary decision on the issues on an accelerated basis (within 65 days) while the full investigation is being conducted.

The procurement inquiry provisions provide the Tribunal the means by which to consider and make findings with respect to complaints concerning government procurements that are subject to the terms of free trade agreements.

Objectives

To fully implement Canada’s obligations under the CKFTA in relation to the bilateral emergency and procurement inquiry provisions

Description

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal Regulations and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations are amended to reflect the inclusion of the CKFTA so that both sets of regulations will apply to imports from the Republic of Korea and inquiries related to procurement bids involving the Republic of Korea, respectively.

Consultation

In January 2005, the Government of Canada launched public consultations with provinces and territories, businesses, industry associations and the general public to gauge Canadians’ interests and sensitivities in launching free trade negotiations with Korea. Stakeholders were consulted regularly throughout the negotiations. A free trade agreement with Korea is supported by a broad cross-section of Canadian business stakeholders. Stakeholders have identified strong safeguard provisions as an important element of the CKFTA.

Rationale

This proposal is required to fully implement obligations set out in the CKFTA. Canada has already implemented similar regulations for purposes of its other bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Canada–Israel FTA, the Canada–Chile FTA, the Canada — Costa Rica FTA, the Canada–European Free Trade Association FTA, the Canada–Peru FTA, the Canada–Colombia FTA, the Canada–Jordan FTA, the Canada–Panama FTA and the Canada–Honduras FTA.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The Tribunal will administer and interpret these regulations in the course of their responsibilities in respect of applying emergency safeguard measures and conducting procurement inquiries.

Contact

Rebecca Marshall-Pritchard
International Trade Policy Division
Department of Finance
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G5
Telephone: 613-369-4021