Canada Is Imposing Emergency Steel Safeguards on 7 Steel Products and Conducting an Injury Inquiry

Provisional Safeguard Measures Imposed on the Importation of Certain Steel Goods

The Government of Canada is imposing provisional safeguards on imports of seven products: heavy plate, concrete reinforcing bar (rebar), energy tubular products, hot-rolled sheet, pre-painted steel, stainless steel wire and wire rod (see Annex A for detailed product descriptions).  The provisional safeguards will come into force on October 25, 2018.

A list of HS classifications can be found in Appendix A.  HS classification numbers are for reference purposes only.  There may be goods under the listed HS number that do not fall within the product definition, or goods that are imported under a HS number that is not listed but that fall within the product definition.

The Government is also requesting that the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) conduct an inquiry to determine whether final safeguards are warranted and, if so, to recommend appropriate remedies. The provisional safeguards will be in place for 200 days pending the CITT findings and recommendations.

The implementation of the Order Imposing a Surtax on the Importation of Certain Steel Goods (the Order) was registered on October 11, 2018 and comes into force October 25, 2018.

To confirm whether imported goods are subject to the safeguard surtax, the CBSA may require importers to provide the following documentation:

Specific permit
Purchase invoice or order
Bill of lading
Mill certificate
Product literature and technical specifications
Any other document to substantiate whether the goods are subject to the safeguard surtax

The Order applies to certain steel goods (goods) imported from all countries except for the exclusions listed below:

– The United States (U.S steel is covered by existing countermeasures introduced on July 1, 2018);
– Mexico (partial exclusion covers heavy plate, rebar, hot-rolled steel, painted steel and stainless steel wire rod; energy tubular products and wire rod is subject to the steel safeguard measures);
– Chile
– Israel
– Developing Countries (such as Vietnam, except that rebar from Vietnam is subject to the steel safeguard measures) -the list of the developing countries is set out in Customs Notice 18-17.  A list of GPT beneficiaries is included in Appendix A.

Effective on the day on which the Order comes into force, a 25% safeguard surtax is applicable to imported goods that exceed the tariff rate quota (TRQ) for each class of goods set out in the Order.

Importers may request shipment-specific import permits (specific permits) from Global Affairs Canada, which will be valid for 14 days.  Goods for which an importer obtained a specific permit, valid at the time of accounting, are exempt from the applicable safeguard surtax.  Imports of goods that do not have a specific permit, or are in excess of the quantity of an import permit at the time of accounting, are subject to the safeguard surtax.

For information on conditions to satisfy when requesting specific permits, please refer to the Notice to Importers on Global Affairs Canada website.  For general information about the permit application process and associated billing system, please refer to the Global Affairs Canada website: Import Controls and Import Permit.

The quantity of goods that may be imported under each TRQ in each fifty-day period is as follows:

Product Quota for each 50-day period (tonnes)  Total 200-day quota (tonnes) Maximum share of total quota for any single  country
Heavy plate 12,918 51,672 23 %
Concrete reinforcing bar 35,332 141,328 23 %
Energy tubular products 64,348 257,392 23 %
Hot-rolled sheet 15,299 61,196 37 %
Pre-painted steel 11,635 46,540 35 %
Stainless steel wire 467 1,868 25 %
Wire rod 11,513 46,052 47 %

 

Government of Canada Stands Up for Steel and Aluminum Businesses and Workers

Backgrounder – Support for Canadian Steel Producers Through Provisional Safeguards on Certain Steel Imports

Customs Notice 18-17 – Provisional Safeguard Measures Imposed on the Importation of Certain Steel Goods

Notice to Importers – Steel Goods

Frequently Asked Questions – Steel Goods Tariff Rate Quotas