GENERAL PREFERENTIAL TARIFF WITHDRAWAL ORDER (2013 GPT REVIEW) - Effective January 1st, 2015 WITHDRAWAL OF GPT ENTITLEMENT benefits from 72 higher-income and trade-competitive countries (out of current 175 beneficiaries), effective January 1, 2015; 1. Entitlement to the benefit of the General Preferential Tariff is withdrawn in respect of all goods that originate in the following countries: Algeria, American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Antilles, Netherlands, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, New Caledonia and Dependencies, Oman, Palau, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Virgin Islands, U.S.A. Background In the early 1970s, the United Nations recommended that developed countries grant non-reciprocal tariff preferences to imports from developing countries under a Generalized System of Preferences in an effort to promote the industrialization of developing countries. Most major developed countries offer such regimes. Canada’s regime, the General Preferential Tariff (GPT), was established in 1974 and offers tariff rates that are lower than Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff rates for imports from developing countries, with the aim of promoting economic growth and export diversification in developing countries. Benefits and costs Based on current trade patterns, the net impact of these changes, on a static basis, is expected to result in $333 million in additional annual tariff revenues, beginning January 1, 2015. This amount could change as trade patterns shift over time (e.g. as importers shift to alternate GPT-eligible or other duty-free sources of supply). As these changes affect less than 2% of total imports into Canada, they are not expected to have any impact on Canadian gross domestic product or consumer prices. The overall impact on total imports is expected to be minimal although changes in sources of imports are expected over time.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 16:42:46 +0000
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