Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) Updated

CBSA Officer Talking to Businesswoman/Lawyer/Detective (Photo courtesy of GRC/RCMP via Flickr)
Trade Update • October 25, 2022

The Canadian government recently amended the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), and as a result, the Canadian Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) related policies have been modified. On June 23, 2022, the Budget Implementation Act (BIA) received royal approval. It brought several legislative, regulatory, and administrative amendments to Canada’s trade remedy framework into force in response to recommendations from the Steel Industry-Government Trade Remedy Working Group (SWG).

The changes to SIMA aim to strengthen Canada’s trade remedy framework and are expected to: minimize the risk of massive importations (where goods are dumped before the imposition of provisional duties), strengthen expiry review processes, enhance considering domestic workers in trade remedy proceedings, and effectively account for dumping margins during the period of investigation.

Key Changes

As a result, the amendments will:

  • Reduce timeframes for notifying the country of export if the CBSA receives a properly documented written complaint respecting the dumping or subsidizing of goods
  • Mandate the CITT to inquire into massive importation in all investigations and replace the standard for imposing retroactive duties by clarifying that massive importations are likely to undermine the remedial effects of duties.
  • Mandate the CITT to initiate expiry reviews of orders and findings before they expire and terminate them when there is no support from the domestic industry.
  • Provide unions with the right to file trade remedy complaints and include the considerations of workers in assessing injury to the domestic industry.
  • Extend the period for which CBSA collects profitability data to a maximum of one full year before the Period of Investigation (POI), with data before the POI only used where there is insufficient data during the POI.

Background

SIMA is a legislation that provides the CBSA with authority to investigate complaints of dumping and subsidizing imported goods sold in Canada at prices that injure or threaten to injure Canadian industry. “Dumping” occurs when goods are sold to importers in Canada at lower prices than the normal value of those goods. “Subsidizing” occurs when imported goods benefit from foreign government financial assistance, giving them an unfair advantage over competing for domestic goods.

For questions about these SIMA changes and how they might affect your imports, please contact us, we’re here to help.

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