Vol. 146, No. 6 — March 14, 2012

Registration

SOR/2012-17 February 27, 2012

EXPORT AND IMPORT PERMITS ACT

General Import Permit No. 80 — Carbon Steel

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to subsection 8(1.1) (see footnote a) and section 10 (see footnote b) of the Export and Import Permits Act (see footnote c), hereby issues the annexed General Import Permit No. 80 — Carbon Steel.

Ottawa, February 20, 2012

JOHN BAIRD
Minister of Foreign Affairs

GENERAL IMPORT PERMIT NO. 80 — CARBON STEEL

GENERAL

1. Any resident of Canada may, under the authority of this Permit, import into Canada any goods described in item 80 of the Import Control List.

2. If any goods imported under the authority of this Permit are required to be reported in the prescribed form under the Customs Act, that form must contain the statement “Imported under the authority of General Import Permit No. 80 — Carbon steel” or “Importé en vertu de la Licence générale d’importation n^o 80 — Acier ordinaire”.

CANCELLATION

3. The General Import Permit No. 80 — Carbon Steel (see footnote 1) is cancelled.

COMING INTO FORCE

4. This Permit comes into force on April 1, 2012.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the orders.)

Issue and objectives

These two ministerial orders for the amendment of General Import Permit No. 80 — Carbon Steel and General Import Permit No. 81 — Specialty Steel Products exempt all steel imports from the need of a transaction-based import permit. They are made pursuant to subsection 8(1.1) of the Export and Import Permits Act.

This is the final phase of a project to reduce cost, eliminate duplication and streamline operations at the border for steel imports, while maintaining adequate steel monitoring.

Description and rationale

Import monitoring of steel products began on September 1, 1986, when carbon steel products were added to the Import Control List (ICL) for the purpose of collecting information concerning the importation of such goods pursuant to subsection 5.1(1) of the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA). This provision enables the Governor in Council to add a certain type of steel or a certain product made of steel to the ICL where it is, in the opinion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, being traded in circumstances of surplus supply and depressed prices and where a significant portion of world trade in the aforesaid steel or steel products are subject to control through the use of non-tariff barriers.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) steel industry stakeholders have long urged their governments to streamline the processes and costs associated with import permits and licences for intra-NAFTA steel trade. Industry members of the North American Steel Trade Committee have raised this as a priority issue since 2004.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the Department of Finance Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) are working toward reducing the regulatory burden at the border. On November 3, 2010, the Minister of Foreign Affairs made the Order Amending the Export and Import Permits and Certificates Fees Order (SOR/2010-257 in force on November 8, 2010) in order to eliminate the fees associated with individual import permits for carbon steel (ICL Item 80) and specialty steel (ICL Item 81). The creation of a new CBSA information-sharing system entitled “Pathfinder” will now enable Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada to access import data that would otherwise only be available through the issuance of individual import permits under the EIPA.

The removal of limitations from the existing general import permits will enlarge the class of steel and steel products that are eligible to enter Canada under these general import permits and will eliminate the burden associated with obtaining a specific import permit for each import of these items.

Consultation

The elimination of individual import permits for carbon and specialty steel has been the subject of ongoing consultations with stakeholders over the past nine years, and most recently in December 2011. These consultations have included Canadian steel producers and their association, and members of the Steel Import Surveillance Committee, which also includes importers and wholesalers.

Contact

Louis Gionet
Trade Controls Policy Division (TIC)
Trade Controls and Technical Barriers Bureau
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
Telephone: 613-995-8367
Fax: 613-995-0282

Footnote a
S.C. 1994, c. 47, s. 108(1)

Footnote b
S.C. 2006, c. 13, s. 113

Footnote c
R.S., c. E-19

Footnote 1
SOR/97-57