The Canada Border Services Agency CBSA has released an updated list of trade compliance verification priorities for 2023. The CBSA periodically sets verification priorities which reflect its evaluation of the risk of non-compliance with customs regulations concerning the importation of specific categories of goods or supply chains.
Canadian exporters in various sectors sometimes face barriers created by foreign laws, regulations or their interpretation. The vast majority of impediments take the form of product regulatory requirements such as product labelling or technical specifications, and for agricultural products such as meats and grains, food safety rules. These barriers may be contrary to the importing country s obligations under international trade agreements, particularly where they vary from internationally- accepted standards. However, litigating locally may be costly, and state-to-state dispute settlement must be launched by the government, is time consuming, and may not lead to a binding result.
The European Union will soon require EU importers of certain carbon-intensive products specifically, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizer, cement, electricity, and hydrogen to declare greenhouse gas emissions GHGs embedded in their imports and pay import taxes that mirror domestic EU carbon prices. The new regulation referred to as the carbon border adjustment mechanism or CBAM is intended to “level the playing field” between EU producers of those products who have to pay an internal EU carbon price and foreign producers who do not. GHG reporting requirements will take effect on October 1, 2023 and the import tax will apply as of January 1, 2026.