Chapter 1 : Tariffs[1]
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Objective
APEC
economies will achieve free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific region by: a.
progressive
reduction of tariffs until the Bogor goals are fully achieved; and b. ensuring the transparency of APEC
economies’ respective tariff regimes. |
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Guidelines
Each APEC
economy will: a.
take into
account, in the process of achieving the above objectives, intra-APEC trade
trends, economic interests, sectors or products related to industries in
which this process may have positive impact on trade and on economic growth
in the Asia-Pacific region and developments in the new economy; b.
ensure that
the achievement of the above objective is not undermined by the application
of unjustifiable measures; and c. consider extending, on a voluntary basis, to all APEC economies the benefits of tariff reductions and eliminations derived from sub-regional arrangements. |
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Collective Actions
APEC
economies will: a.
participate
and ensure the expeditious supply and updates of the WTO Integrated Database
and any other APEC databases; b.
arrange for
seminars and/or workshops on industrial tariffs negotiations in consultation
with international organisations, where appropriate, including
WTO Secretariat on WTO Integrated Tariff Database; c.
study
lessons from modalities for tariff reduction and elimination in regional
arrangements; and d.
encourage
the accession of all economies to the WTO Information Technology Agreement,
including the adoption of ITA provisions by non-members of the WTO. The current
CAP relating to tariffs can be found in the Tariffs and Non-Tariff Measures
Collective Action Plan |
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Canada’s Approach to Tariffs in 2003
The Government of Canada
pursues a policy of tariff and trade liberalization to further advance
Canada’s broad trade agenda, including the negotiation and implemention of
multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements, and through unilateral
tariff reduction iniatives. The Minister of Finance is responsible for import
policy, aimed at securing and improving access to foreign markets for
Canadian business while supporting an efficient and competitive domestic
economy. The key import policy
instruments in Canada are as follows; information about these may be viewed
on-line as indicated: Customs Tariff (Most recent consolodated version, and
details of previous ammendments) http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/cus The Special Import
Measures Act http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/S http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/cus The Canadian International
Trade Tribunal Act http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C Canada is commited to
advancing free and open trade. Successive
rounds of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) combined with regional and bilateral free-trade
agreements have reduced tariffs to a point where they are less significant in
many markets today. However,
important tariff barriers remain in many economies. Consequently, Canada is actively engaged in the WTO Doha Round
of multilateral negotiations, as well as in the Free Trade Area of the
Americas regional negotiations, and in other negotiations with the four
Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and
Nicaragua. In addition, Canada
continues discussions to explore the scope of possible negotiations with the
Andean Community of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, with the
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and with the Dominican
Republic. Among APEC member
economies in the context of the Bogor goals concerning tariffs, Canada is
approaching the ten-year anniversary of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Mexico. Staged tariff reductions under NAFTA are
fully implemented; many ahead of schedule.
The Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement has been in force since 1997,
and the last of staged tariff reductions under this
Agreement took place in January 2003.
Bilateral negotiations with Singapore are ongoing. (For further information please visit: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/t In addition, 16 APEC
members are eligible for Canada’s General Preferential Tariff (GPT), which is
provided on a unilateral basis. Contact information: Marnie Fyten Government of Canada Department of Finance |
Case Study of a Tariff Liberalisation
Initiative
N/A |
Canada’s Approach to Tariffs in 2003 |
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Section
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Improvements Implemented Since Last
IAP |
Current Tariff Arrangements |
Further Improvements Planned |
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Bound Tariffs |
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99.7% of items in HS Chapters 1 - 97
of the Canadian Customs Tariff are WTO bound. |
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Applied Tariffs |
Canada continues to meet its Uruguay
Round WTO commitments, including reductions to MFN tariffs on products
including textiles and clothing, each January, through 2004. Canada
eliminates "nuisance tariffs" (those below a 2% threshold) from MFN
and preferential tariffs, each January. Canada
continues to unilaterally reduce applied tariffs on certain goods used in the
production of other goods (manufacturing inputs) or in the provision of
services. |
In 2002, 89% of imports
into Canada, by value of goods, entered duty-free under MFN, unilateral or
negotiated preferential tariff treatments, and the import-weighted average
applied tariff was merely 1%. In general, Canada’s MFN tariffs are applied slightly below
bound levels; the simple average bound and applied MFN tariff rates are
currently 5.1 and 4.0 percent, respectively. Current tariff rates are available on-line through the APEC
tariff database (http://www.apectariff.org/) and on the Canada Customs and
Revenue Agency’s website at: http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/cus |
Canada will work
together with APEC member economies towards a successful WTO Doha Round, that
includes real and substantial improvements in market access, within a fair
and equitable multilateral trading system, while continuing
to implement Uruguay Round tariff reduction commitments. |
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Tariff Quotas |
Canada eliminated tariff rate quotas
on most imports (except for dairy products, poultry and eggs) from 48 Least
Developed Countries, on January 1, 2003. |
Only 2% of items in HS Chapters 1 -
97 are subject to tariff rate quotas (TRQs), reflecting sensitivities in
Canada's agricultural sector. Information explaining Canada’s TRQ system can
be found on-line at: http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/p |
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Tariff Preferences |
The
Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement came into force on November 1, 2002. The last of staged tariff reductions
under the Canada - Chile Free Trade Agreement were implemented in January
2003. Final tariff reductions on eligible
items imported from Mexico, under NAFTA, were also implemented in January
2003. |
Canada has 10 preferential tariff
treatments, including the following negotiated agreements that contain staged
tariff reductions: -
the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement; -
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); -
the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement; and For
information on the above Agreements please visit: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/t Canada
also maintains unilateral tariff preferences for developing and
least-developed countries. Canada
introduced its General Preferential Tariff (GPT) scheme for developing
countries in 1974. 16 APEC members
are eligible for the GPT, which ranges from tariff-free to 2/3 of MFN
rates. For more information, see Section 33 of the Cutsoms Tariff. Duty
free entry was provided to all GPT-eligible products from the least-developed
countries in 1983. The LDC product
coverage was extended twice; in August 2000 and again in January 2003. Most imports from LDCs (except for dairy
products, poultry and eggs) may now enter Canada duty and quota free. |
In addition to working together with APEC member economies
towards a successful WTO Doha Round, Canada is also actively engaged in the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations
and in negotiations with the four Central American countries of El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Canada continues discussions to explore the scope of possible
negotiations with the Andean Community of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
and Venezuela, with the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and
with the Dominican Republic. |
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Canada provides annual updates of
tariff and trade information to the WTO Integrated Database. Current tariff rates are available to the
public in viewing or downloadable format through
the APEC tariff database (http://www.apectariff.org/) and on the Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency’s website: http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/cus See
the tariff summary and dispersion tables at the end of this chapter, for more
information. |
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Improvements in Canada’s Approach to Tariff Measures since 1996 |
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Section |
Position at Base Year (1996) |
Cumulative Improvements Implemented
to Date |
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Bound Tariffs |
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99.7% of items in HS Chapters 1 - 97
of the Canadian Customs Tariff are WTO bound. |
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Applied Tariffs |
Between 1996 and 2002 the percentage of imports, by value of goods, that enters Canada duty-free under MFN, unilateral or negotiated preferential tariff treatments, has risen from 78% to 89%. Canada’s
import-weighted average tariff applied to all imports has decreased from
1.32% in 1996 to 0.93% in 2002. In
February of 1994, the Government of Canada launched a comprehensive review of
Canada’s tariff regime aimed at making Canada’s tariff system simpler, more
transparent and predictable. As a
result, on January 1, 1998, Canada’s new simplified Customs Tariff came into
effect, systematically modifying Canada’s tariff structure and reducing
tariff levels. |
On an annual basis commencing January
1, 1995, Canada has implemented its tariff reduction commitments as per the
Uruguay Round agreement in the WTO, including the zero-for-zero initiatives. Canada
removed tariffs on pharmaceutical products as a result of Pharma II (April
1997) and Pharm III (July 1999) commitments in the WTO. Canada
as a signatory to the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), reduced tariffs
on all products subject to that agreement.
Final reductions were implemented
January 1, 2000. Canada
accelerated to 1998,the Uruguay Round tariff reductions for all products that
were to have final cuts in 1999, including zero-for-zero initiatives in the
medical equipment, agricultural equipment, construction equipment, and office
furniture sectors. Canada
has reduced all applied tariffs below 2%, to zero, on an annual basis since January,
1998. Canada
unilaterally reduces applied tariffs on certain goods used in the production
of other goods (manufacturing inputs) or in the provision of services. |
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Tariff Quotas |
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Only 2% of items in HS Chapters 1 -
97 are subject to tariff rate quotas (TRQs), reflecting sensitivities in
Canada's agricultural sector. Information explaining Canada’s TRQ system can
be found on-line at: http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/p |
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Tariff Preferences |
By 1996, Canada had negotiated the
following significant preferential trade agreements: - the Canada-United States Free Trade
Agreement; - the North American Free Trade Agreement;
and - the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement. Canada
introduced its General Preferential Tariff (GPT) scheme for developing
countries (including 16 APEC members) in 1974. Duty free entry was provided
to all GPT-eligible products from the least-developed countries in 1983. |
Canada
is approaching the ten-year anniversary of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Mexico. Staged tariff reductions under NAFTA are
fully implemented; many ahead of schedule.
The
Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement came into force on July 1997. Canadian tariffs on most goods from Chile
were eliminated at that time, with the last of staged tariff reductions being implemented in January
2003. The Canada-Costa Rica Free
Trade Agreement came into force on November 1, 2002. The
LDC product coverage was extended twice; in August 2000 and again in January
2003. Most imports from LDCs (except
for dairy products, poultry and eggs) may now enter Canada duty and quota
free. Canada also liberalized the origin requirements that apply to LDC
imports, in 2000. |
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Transparency of Tariff Regime |
In February of 1994, the Government
of Canada launched a comprehensive review of Canada’s tariff regime aimed at
making Canada’s tariff system simpler, more transparent and predictable. As a result, on January 1, 1998, Canada’s
new simplified Customs Tariff came into effect, systematically modifying
Canada’s tariff structure and reducing tariff levels. |
The new Customs Tariff, which came
into effect on January 1, 1998, introduced a number of liberalizing measures
that are of benefit to international traders, including those from APEC
economies. Overall,
the Canadian tariff system has become more simple, predictable, and
transparent by replacing the existing seven tariff schedules with a single
tariff schedule containing a simpler rate structure and significantly fewer
provisions (about 8,000 compared to 11,000). The system was further
simplified by eliminating or streamlining a significant number of legislative
provisions and introducing a more flexible tariff schedule format (two tariff
columns rather than five). Some of
these measures have also broadened the scope of certain existing duty free
provisions. Canada
provides annual updates of tariff and trade information to the WTO Integrated
Database. Current tariff rates are available to the
public in viewing or downloadable format through
the APEC tariff database (http://www.apectariff.org/) and on the Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency’s website: http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/cus See
the tariff summary and dispersion tables at the end of this chapter, and in
previous annual individual action plans, for more information. |
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All Goods |
Agriculture excluding Fish |
Fish and Fish Products |
Petroleum Oils |
Wood, Pulp, Paper and Furniture |
Textiles and Clothing |
Leather, Rubber, Footwear and Travel Goods |
Metals |
Chemical & Photographic Supplies |
Transport Equipment |
Non-Electric Machinery |
Electric Machinery |
Mineral Products, Precious Stones &
Metals |
Manufactured Articles, n.e.s |
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Bound tariff lines as a percentage of all lines |
99.7% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
53.3% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0 |
100.0% |
97.3% |
99.9% |
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Duty-free tariff lines as a percentage of all lines |
50% |
40% |
73% |
50% |
77% |
31% |
35% |
64% |
48% |
41% |
71% |
56% |
73% |
51% |
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Preferential tariff lines as a percentage of all lines
(GPT) |
82% |
65% |
93% |
100% |
99% |
45% |
89% |
76% |
99% |
99% |
100% |
99% |
98% |
98% |
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Preferential tariff lines as a percentage of all lines
(LDCT) |
88% |
87% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
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Ratio of tariff lines with quotas to all lines |
183:8515 |
183:1386 |
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Simple average bound tariff rate |
5.1% |
4.7% |
1.7% |
5.2% |
2.1% |
12.5% |
7.8% |
3.0% |
4.6% |
5.4% |
3.3% |
4.1% |
2.7% |
4.0% |
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Simple average applied tariff rate |
4.0% |
3.9% |
1.4% |
3.3% |
1.6% |
9.4% |
5.7% |
1.9% |
3.1% |
5.2% |
1.7% |
2.4% |
2.0% |
3.2% |
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Simple average applied preferential tariff rate - GPT |
1.3% |
1.5% |
0.7% |
1.3% |
0.6% |
3.4% |
1.9% |
1.0% |
1.2% |
1.3% |
0.2% |
0.7% |
0.5% |
1.0% |
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Simple average applied preferential tariff rate - LDCT |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
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Average applied tariff rate for all lines subject to
duty |
8.4% |
8.7% |
5.2% |
6.5% |
6.9% |
13.6% |
8.6% |
5.2% |
5.8% |
8.9% |
5.7% |
5.4% |
7.2% |
6.4% |
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Import-weighted average applied tariff rate FOB |
1.0% |
1.8% |
0.4% |
0.0% |
0.7% |
9.1% |
4.5% |
0.6% |
0.5% |
0.8% |
0.1% |
0.3% |
0.5% |
0.6% |
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Import-weighted average bound tariff rate - FOB |
5.0% |
3.8% |
1.7% |
5.2% |
1.7% |
12.2% |
7.2% |
3.0% |
4.5% |
5.3% |
3.3% |
4.1% |
2.7% |
4.0% |
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Notes:
Based on 2002 imports and 2003
tariff information GPT – General Preferential Tariff treatment
LDCT – Least Developed Country Tariff treatment |
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APEC INDIVIDUAL ACTION PLAN: TARIFF DISPERSION TABLE FOR 2003 |
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All Goods |
Agriculture excluding Fish |
Fish and Fish Products |
Petroleum Oils |
Wood, Pulp, Paper and Furniture |
Textiles and Clothing |
Leather, Rubber, Footwear and Travel Goods |
Metals |
Chemical & Photographic Supplies |
Transport Equipment |
Non-Electric Machinery |
Electric Machinery |
Mineral Products, Precious Stones &
Metals |
Manufactured Articles, n.e.s |
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NUMBER
OF TARIFFS AT OR BETWEEN |
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0% |
4268 |
550 |
98 |
8 |
273 |
437 |
132 |
592 |
597 |
98 |
582 |
337 |
242 |
322 |
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0%<X<=5% |
988 |
149 |
25 |
4 |
18 |
39 |
89 |
152 |
176 |
7 |
58 |
109 |
23 |
139 |
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5%<X<=10% |
1909 |
214 |
10 |
4 |
60 |
241 |
81 |
175 |
484 |
105 |
181 |
156 |
59 |
139 |
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10%<X<=15% |
535 |
73 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
386 |
26 |
10 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
21 |
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15%<X<=20% |
396 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
303 |
55 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
14 |
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>20% |
23 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Specific (includes 1 “N/A” - not applicable) |
396 |
379 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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TOTAL |
8515 |
1386 |
134 |
16 |
356 |
1423 |
383 |
929 |
1258 |
238 |
821 |
603 |
333 |
635 |
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Note: Based
on 2003 Tariff information |
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