October 24, 2017 – Canaan Transport was invited to the Flanders Investment and Trade mission to promote the city of Antwerp and investment in Belgium. An interesting session was presented this morning on the internet of things and the digital economy. The trade mission finishes their Canada trip tomorrow.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union has now officially entered into force in Canada. As a result, thousands of products will now start having preferential import duty rates when importing into Canada from the EU. Although there may still be legal challenges, it is expected that these will be ultimately resolved.
CETA plans to abolish 98% of all customs duties between the two economies and will result increasing the import of more cheese and wine into Canada and the export of pork and beef to the EU.
In an unusual step, COSCO announced to its customers that it will temporarily switch the port of discharge for its containers destined to Canadian inland points aboard the vessels below. These containers will be unloaded at Vancouver (terminal Centerm), instead of at Prince Rupert.
| XIN OU ZHOU | Q94 | 031N |
| CSCL AMERICA | RXH | 009N |
| XIN FEI ZHOU | R27 | 036N |
| CSCL OCEANIA | R55 | 012N |
The carrier indicates the decision was made in an effort to alleviate the growing congestion and dwell times experienced recently at Prince Rupert.
The other steamship lines that share space on these vessels have not made similar announcements as of this time. Therefore, containers that are aboard these vessels but not moved by COSCO might still be unloaded at Prince Rupert. In its customer advisory, COSCO advised the changing of port of discharge will not affect any rate agreements currently in place, and diversion fees will not be applied by COSCO. COSCO said it will update the change of routing to CBSA.
In its September 12 bulletin, CIFFA indicated that forwarders and their customers can expect ongoing delays and increased dwell times at Canadian west coast ports for the next several weeks, especially at Prince Rupert and Deltaport. Volumes are high. Container stacks are growing higher at terminals and service levels are certainly not where they should be.
There is a combination of contributing factors and, while investments are being made to alleviate congestion in the system, these efforts may not bear fruit as quickly as needed. In the meantime, dwell times on the docks at Prince Rupert are edging up, with week 37 expected to average 6 to 7 days. Dwell times are expected to slowly decrease during weeks 38 and 39 and, by November, Prince Rupert dwells are expected to be back to its usual, under-three-day average. The Port of Vancouver container terminal performance update shows Centerm in the green, with dwell times under three days.
On September 7, 2017, Cascadia Container Lines, a freight forwarding and ship’s agent in Vancouver, Canada, declared bankruptcy and left a number of transportation partners holding debts exceeding $1 million. Although Canaan Transport was not a customer nor vendor for Cascadia Container Lines, this bankruptcy highlights the need for clients to ensure that their transportation partner is financially viable and solvent. Operating since 1981 in Canada, Canaan Transport has the financial strength and capability to manage all your transportation needs and we invite companies that have been affected by this unfortunate event to contact us about how we can assist with your requirements.
Canaan Transport has also been retained by a number of international freight forwarders to represent their interests in the bankruptcy proceedings so please contact us if you need our assistance.
With the provisional acceptance of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CETA), we wanted to remind our customers that the application period to obtain Cheese Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) will end on September 8, 2017.
Applicants who wish to apply for an allocation under the new CETA Cheese Quotas should review the relevant Notice to Importers:
CETA – Cheese Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) Notice to Importers serial number 895; or
CETA – Industrial Cheese Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) Notice to Importers serial number 896;
The Notices set out the eligibility criteria to obtain an allocation under each respective TRQ. The Notices also provide information on the administration of TRQs in general and on the process for submitting an application for an allocation. Application forms and related appendices are attached to each Notice.
To be eligible for an allocation, an applicant must be:
– A resident of Canada as defined in the Export and Import Permits Act;
– Active in the Canadian cheese sector; and
– Able to demonstrate activity in the cheese sector regularly during the relevant reference period.
To qualify for an allocation in the 2017 allocation year, applicants will have to be able to demonstrate that they were active in the Canadian cheese sector between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016.
Applicants must include their EIPA number in the application for an allocation. If an applicant does not have an EIPA number, Global Affairs Canada will assign one based on the information provided in the application for an allocation.
The deadline for submission is September 8, 2017 and applicants will be informed in writing on October 2 whether they have qualified for an allocation and the amount of quota they have been allocated.
There is no limit on the amount of the Quota that is available to new entrants. However, individual allocations will normally be capped at a maximum 20 percent of the Quota.
The Quota amount that will be made available for 2017 will be 745,299 kgs of cheese of all types and 79,085 kgs of industrial cheese. These figures will be pro-rated for the first year.
Any additional questions can be sent to Canaan Transport for follow up.
Swissport baggage handlers at Toronto Pearson Airport continue their strike. As advised to all subscribers of our newsletter, there are significant cargo delays as a result of this job action. For further information, please subscribe to our newsletter.