This article is the first of a series of articles written about anti-dumping and countervailing duties in Canada.

If you are thinking about importing a product to Canada, your first step is to see whether or not your business and product will be affected by the Canada Special Import Measures Act (the “SIMA”). The SIMA is a piece of legislation that protects Canadian industry from injury or threat of injury caused by the dumping or subsidizing of imported goods.

What is dumping?

According to the Canada Border Services Agency (the “CBSA”), dumping occurs when goods are sold to importers in Canada at prices that are lower than the selling price of comparable goods in the country of export or when goods are sold to Canada at unprofitable prices.

What is subsidizing?

According to the CBSA, subsidizing occurs when goods imported into Canada benefit from foreign government financial assistance.

Examples of foreign government subsidies include:

  • Tax incentives;
  • Government grants;
  • Loans at preferential prices

Are dumping or subsidizing bad?

It’s a common mistake to think that all dumping and subsidizing measures at automatically bad for Canada. The reality is much different: as long as the dumping and subsidizing of your product is not causing or threatening to cause injury or retardation to the Canadian industry, you will not face any sanctions.

When will you be sanctioned for dumping or subsidizing?

The amount of dumping on imported goods can be offset by the application of an anti-dumping duty – essentially, a special tariff imposed on a certain product that is being imported into Canada.

Similarly, the amount of subsidizing on imported goods can be offset by the application of a countervailing duty.

However, before these special tariffs are put in place, the Canadian industry must prove that your dumped or subsidized imports are causing retardation or injury, or are threatening to cause retardation or injury to the Canadian marketplace.

In Part II, we will explain how and when anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties are applied on imported goods.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you wish to seek legal advice, contact us today.  613-747-2459