Order Amending the Export of Logs Permit (Miscellaneous Program): SOR/2021-279

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 2

Registration
SOR/2021-279 December 29, 2021

EXPORT AND IMPORT PERMITS ACT

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to subsections 7(1.1) footnote a and 10(1) footnote b of the Export and Import Permits Act footnote c, makes the annexed Order Amending the Export of Logs Permit (Miscellaneous Program).

Ottawa, December 22, 2021

Mélanie Joly
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Order Amending the Export of Logs Permit (Miscellaneous Program)

Amendment

1 Section 3 of the Export of Logs Permit footnote 1 is replaced by the following:

3 If any goods exported under the authority of this Permit are required to be reported in the prescribed form under the Customs Act, that form must contain the statement “Exported under the authority of General Export Permit No. Ex. 5” or “Exporté en vertu de la Licence générale d’exportation no Ex. 5”.

Coming into Force

2 This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the orders.)

Issues

The amendment of General Export Permit No. Ex. 5 (Export of Logs Permit) [GEP No. 5] and the repeal of General Export Permit No. Ex 10 (Export of Sugar Permit) [GEP No. 10] and General Import Permit No. 19 (GIP No. 19) are required in order to avoid misleading or contradictory information being provided to traders, and to repeal obsolete regulatory provisions that have no current application.

GEP No. 5 authorizes the export of “logs of all kinds of wood upon presentation to the collector of customs at the Canadian port of exit of a certificate satisfactory to the collector that the export consists of:

Given that GEP No. 5 makes reference to export documentation recently abolished by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), it needs to be amended to incorporate these changes in order to assist exporters with the provision of the required information in the appropriate format.

GEP No. 10 was originally intended to exempt Canadian exporters from obtaining a permit when exporting less than 5 kg of “sugar, syrups and molasses,” as described in item 5201 on the Export Control List (ECL), to the United States (U.S.) for personal use. Due to changes to the U.S. sugar import program in 1991, controls for those goods were no longer necessary, and item 5201 was removed from the ECL. In 1995, as part of the United States’ implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture, the United States established tariff rate quotas for imports of Canadian sugars, syrups and molasses. Accordingly, “sugar, syrups and molasses” were re-added to the ECL under item 5204. As a result, the reference to “goods described in item 5201 of the Export Control List” in GEP No. 10 became inaccurate. In addition, changes made to item 5204 in 2020, for the purpose of implementing the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement, resulted in a GEP no longer being required for the export of those goods to the United States for personal use. GEP No. 10 should therefore be repealed.

GIP No. 19 authorizes the import of “cotton terry towels and washcloths as described in item 29 of the Import Control List” (ICL). Given that item 29 of the ICL was repealed in 2005, GIP No. 19 has no current application, and should therefore be repealed.

Objectives

The amendments have the following objectives:

Description and rationale

Subsection 7(1.1) of the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA) provides that “the Minister may by order, issue generally to all residents of Canada a general permit to export or transfer to any country specified in the permit any goods or technology included in an Export Control List that are specified in the permit, subject to such terms and conditions as are described in the permit.”

Amendment to General Export Permit No. Ex. 5

In the past, a completed and validated Paper Export Declaration Form (B13A) was needed for any shipment of “logs of all kinds of wood” that were exported under the authority of the GEP No. 5. Exporters were also required to include the statement “Exported under the authority of General Export Permit No. Ex. 5” in the B13A form.

As of June 30, 2020, the CBSA abolished paper-based reporting and no longer accepts the Paper Export Declaration Form (B13A). Electronic exporter reporting is now mandatory through the new Canadian Export Reporting System. Under the new Canadian Export Reporting System, exporters are still required to cite the appropriate GEP under which exports are authorized.

Updating GEP No. 5 to incorporate recent changes by the CBSA is necessary to eliminate potential contradictory information and ensure that exporters provide the required documentation. Thus, the reference to the B13A form is being removed from section 3 of the regulation.

Repeal of General Export Permit No. Ex. 10

The reference to “goods described in item 5201 of the Export Control List” in GEP No. 10 is no longer accurate. Item 5201 of the ECL, which originally controlled “sugar, syrups and molasses” (see Export Control List, SOR/89-202), was removed from the ECL in 1991 (see Order Amending the Export Control List, SOR/91-141). In 1995, “sugar, syrups and molasses” was re-added to the ECL under item 5204 (see Order Amending the Export Control List, SOR/95-469), given that item 5201 was already being used for “peanut butter.”

In addition, changes made to item 5204 in 2020, for the purpose of implementing the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement, resulted in permits only being required to export “sugar, syrups and molasses” to the United States for preferential access under the Canada-specific tariff rate quotas. As a result, any Canadian exporter wanting to export less than 5 kg of “sugar, syrups and molasses,” as described in item 5204, to the United States for personal use no longer requires an export permit. As a result, GEP No. 10 is no longer required.

Repeal of General Import Permit No. 19

Subsection 8(1.1) of the EIPA provides that “the Minister may, by order, issue generally to all residents of Canada a general permit to import any goods included on the Import Control List that are specified in the permit, subject to such terms and conditions as are described in the permit.” On April 21, 1978, the Secretary of State for External Affairs issued GIP No. 19, which allowed any person to import cotton terry towels and washcloths, as described in item 29 of the ICL, into Canada from any country except Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). In the past, a completed and validated customs entry form was usually required for any shipment of cotton terry towels and washcloths imported under the authority of this GIP. That customs entry form had to be endorsed with the statement “Imported under the authority of General Import Permit No. 19.”

The WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing expired in 2004, resulting in the removal of numerous items from the ICL, including item 29 (see Order Amending the Import Control List, SOR/2005-71). With the removal of item 29, GIP No. 19 ceased to have any effect or application, and therefore should be repealed.

One-for-one rule and small business lens

The one-for-one rule does not apply to this amendment and these cancellations, as there is no change in administrative costs or burden to businesses.

Contacts

Elizabeth Clarke
Deputy Director
Non-supply Managed Trade Controls Division
Global Affairs Canada
111 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Telephone: 343‑203‑4366
Email: Elizabeth.Clarke@international.gc.ca

Susan Cox
Deputy Director
Softwood Lumber Division
Global Affairs Canada
111 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Telephone: 343‑203‑3721
Email: Susan.Cox@international.gc.ca