Increased possibility of high duties: How SIMA can affect your import costs

 

One of the functions of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is to help protect Canadian producers from unfair foreign competition. In this spirit, the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) helps protect Canadian industry from the unfair subsidizing and dumping of imported goods. CBSA and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) are jointly responsible for administering SIMA.

 

Knowing about SIMA can help you avoid high duties of up to 350%.

 

 

We are hearing an increasing number of complaints from domestic manufacturers of unfair trade practices by foreign producers. These practices include dumping and unfair subsidies provided by a foreign country, and both can lead to a loss of sales and revenue by Canadian companies.

 

Both concepts are elaborated upon in our blog on Countervailing and Antidumping Duties. New investigations and preliminary cases have been initiated to respond to these activities.

 

 

Upon receiving a complaint of unfair practices, CBSA initiates an investigation to determine if actual injury to Canadian industry is occurring. If it is, an appropriate level of anti-dumping duties will be applied to the imported product(s). These duties can range from 50% to 350% of the value of the goods, depending on various factors such as the type of product and the country of origin.

 

The process is elaborated upon on the CBSA website.

 

 

 The extra cost of these duties is borne by the importer! You do not want to have goods arrive and get cleared only to find out the SIMA duties make the product highly unprofitable.

 

When ordering products from foreign vendors, you need to know the full cost of the product to know the final price: the cost of the actual item, freight, duties, taxes and any SIMA charges. High SIMA charges can render the final cost unacceptable.

 

 

 Review the types of products on the SIMA list prior to ordering.

 

SIMA measures in force is a list of goods currently subject to anti-dumping or countervailing measures pursuant to SIMA. It is updated as necessary to reflect the current status of duty liability.

 

The CBSA website provides details on all new and ongoing SIMA investigations on their website.

 

If you are unsure if your imported item could be subject to SIMA duties, contact your customs broker.

 

Our experienced customs professionals can help you determine if a specific item is subject to SIMA duties and can help with any other concerns or questions regarding your import business.