The original Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (known as the “CIFTA”) entered into effect on January 1, 1997.  It was a limited free trade agreement. The CIFTA was previously amended on July 5, 2002 and November 1, 2003.  On May 28, 2018, Canada and Israel again amended the CIFTA by signing the Canada-Israel Free Trade Amending

It is that time of year again – time to obtain or prepare new Certificates of Origin. A Certificate of Origin may apply to either a single importation of goods or to multiple importations of identical goods exported to a free trade partner within a 12-month period, (called a “blanket certificate”).  Blanket Certificates of Origin

Canada

Canadian businesses are used to the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) customs procedures for verifying certificates of origin that effectively state that exported goods are “made in Canada”. The NAFTA origin verification procedures have been adopted in most other Canadian free trade agreements.

Under NAFTA, United States Customs and Border Protection (“US CBP”)

Canada-US GlobeDonald Trump and Hillary Clinton talked about the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) during the U.S. Presidential Debate on September 26th.  Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spoke about NAFTA during the primaries and on the campaign trail.  NAFTA is relevant again!  This is good for customs lawyers and trade lawyers.  With all this talk

Export And Import Keys Shows International Trade Or Global Commerce

On August 19, 2016, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) posted on its web-site a “Checklist for Exporting Commercial Goods from Canada”.  On January 25, 2016 (updated August 19, 2016), the CBSA also published a “Step-by-Step Guide to Exporting Commercial Goods from Canada“.

The first thing is that exporters must know is

Customs Building (XL)Let’s face the truth, the legal department does not sign off on certificates of origin.  In most companies exporting their goods, it is the sales department or the logistics department that prepares and signs the certificates of origin.  In many companies, the certificate of origin is just a piece of paper that has to be

Canada

Customs Building (XL)On January 21, 2015, “the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) posted on the CBSA web-site D-Memorandum D11-4-2 “Proof of Origin of Imported Goods” (stated to be published on January 13, 2016).  This policy statement informs importers about what documents the CBSA will accept as proof of origin of goods.

Pursuant to section 35.1 of

Greeting words around 2016 year type in gold on a black background

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is now time for for importers and exporters to review, update and renew their blanket North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) certificates of origin.  Importers and customs brokers must be in possession of a valid NAFTA certificate of origin to continue to receive the duty free (UST, MST or MUST) benefits