Goods imported into Canada are generally only subject to the assessment of ordinary customs duty and goods and services tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST). However, in any year, certain imported goods may face additional assessment of anti-dumping and/or countervailing (anti-subsidy) duties if they have been found to have caused injury or retardation to a Canadian domestic industry, or to threaten to cause injury by virtue of being dumped or subsidized.
Two Canadian government bodies—the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT)—administer the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) and the Special Import Measures Regulations (SIMR), Canada’s laws that deal with anti-dumping and countervailing duties. The SIMA and the SIMR contain 98 sections and 58 regulations, respectively, of complex legal rules. This booklet introduces the principal elements of Canada’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy legislation, including amendments to the SIMA and the SIMR that came into force by February 2023. However, any person involved in or impacted by SIMA should seek the guidance of the Bennett Jones International Trade & Investment group as to the application of the law.
