Vol. 139, No. 19 — September 21, 2005

Registration
SOR/2005-239 August 30, 2005

EXPORT AND IMPORT PERMITS ACT

Order Amending the Import Control List

P.C. 2005-1464 August 30, 2005

Whereas, in the opinion of the Minister for International Trade, certain carbon and specialty steel products are traded in world markets in circumstances of surplus supply and depressed prices;

Whereas a significant proportion of world trade in those products is subject to control through the use of non-tariff measures;

Whereas the Governor in Council is satisfied that it is advisable to collect information with respect to the importation of those products;

And whereas those products were included on the Import Control List (see footnote a) by Order in Council P.C. 2002-969 of June 6, 2002 (see footnote b), which came into force on September 1, 2002, and will be deemed by subsection 5.1(2) (see footnote c) of the Export and Import Permits Act to be removed from that list on August 31, 2005;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister for International Trade, pursuant to subsection 5.1(1) (see footnote d) and section 6 (see footnote e) of the Export and Import Permits Act, hereby makes the annexed Order Amending the Import Control List.

ORDER AMENDING THE IMPORT CONTROL LIST

AMENDMENT

1. Items 80 and 81 of the Import Control List (see footnote 1) are replaced by the following:

80. Carbon steel products including semi-finished products (ingots, blooms, billets, slabs and sheet bars), plate, sheets and strip, wire rods, wire and wire products, railway-type products, bars, structural shapes and units, pipes and tubes, but excluding the specialty steel products referred to in item 81.

81. Specialty steel products: stainless flat-rolled products (sheet, strip and plate), stainless steel bar, stainless steel pipe and tube, stainless steel wire and wire products, alloy tool steel, mold steel and high-speed steel.

COMING INTO FORCE

2. This Order comes into force September 1, 2005.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Description

This Order ensures that import monitoring of carbon and specialty steel products is continued by placing these products on the Import Control List (ICL) pursuant to subsection 5.1(1) and section 6 of the Export and Import Permit Act (EIPA), effective September 1, 2005.

The purpose of the monitoring program is to provide interested parties with a source of timely and accurate statistics concerning Canada's steel imports. In particular, data and related reports concerning the type, quantity, price, and origin of steel imports are of ongoing interest to the Canadian steel industry.

Import monitoring of steel products began on September 1, 1986, when carbon steel products were added to the ICL for the purpose of collecting information concerning the importation of such goods. This action was taken as a result of an inquiry conducted by the Canadian Import Tribunal, which had concluded in July 1986 that given a number of factors, including excess steel production capacity, market instability, and significant barriers to trade, it was advisable for the government to begin collecting steel import information.

Specialty steel products were added to the ICL on June 1, 1987, following an amendment to the EIPA that allowed the Government to collect information on the importation or the exportation of these steel products. Pursuant to section 5.1 of the EIPA, where at any time it appears to the satisfaction of the Governor in Council that it is advisable to collect information with respect to the exportation or importation of a certain type of steel or a certain product made of steel that is, in the opinion of the Minister, traded in world markets in circumstances of surplus supply and depressed prices and where a significant proportion of world trade in that type of steel or that product is subject to control through the use of non-tariff measures, the Governor in Council may, by order, include steel on the ICL for the purpose of facilitating the collection of that information.

Pursuant to subsection 5.1(2) of the EIPA, where any type of steel or any product has been included on the ICL by order of the Governor in Council under subsection 5.1(1), that type of steel or that product is deemed to have been removed from the ICL on the day prior to the expiration of that period as may be specified in the Order. Since 1986, the steel import-monitoring program has been renewed as follows: carbon steel on September 1, 1989; specialty steel on June 1, 1990; and both carbon and specialty steel on September 1 of 1992, 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002. The current regulatory authority will expire on August 31, 2005 (SOR/2002-213).

Alternatives

The elimination of import monitoring would remove an important source of information used extensively by steel producers to track prices, volumes, and origins of steel imports. Import permit statistics are valued by stakeholders for their accuracy and, in that the Department of International Trade's web site is updated each Monday to reflect the previous week's permit issuance, are unique in terms of their timeliness. There are currently no alternative sources of equivalent steel import statistics.

Benefits and Costs

Import permit data provide the most up-to-date information available in Canada on the volume, price and origin of steel imports. Furthermore, using import licencing for monitoring purposes has the advantage of maintaining the permit system in a state of readiness, should steel import quotas become necessary at some point.

Permit issuance costs are recovered through permit fees charged to importers. Permit fee revenue totaled $4,797,974 in fiscal year 2003-2004.

Consultation

A full range of Canadian steel industry stakeholders (i.e. steel producers, importers, service centres and related associations) were consulted and invited to submit views with respect to the prospective renewal of the steel import monitoring program. Program renewal is supported by a range of industry stakeholders, including steel producers, and interests representing steel service centres and steel construction. There were no negative responses to the letter to industry stakeholders requesting comments on a prospective renewal of the program.

All government departments and agencies consulted on this issue (i.e. Finance Canada, Industry Canada, Statistics Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency) support the program renewal.

Compliance and Enforcement

Most steel import permits are issued automatically on-line upon application by customs brokers on behalf of importers. Steel imports cannot be cleared by Canada Border Services Agency without a permit. The importation of steel covered by the import-monitoring system without an import permit issued by International Trade Canada may lead to prosecution under the EIPA.

Contact

Mr. Louis Gionet
Deputy Director
Trade Controls Policy Division (EPMT)
Export and Import Controls Bureau
Department of International Trade
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
Telephone: (613) 995-8367
E-mail: louis.gionet@international.gc.ca

Footnote a

C.R.C., c. 604; SOR/89-251

Footnote b

SOR/2002-213

Footnote c

R.S., c. 13 (3rd Supp.) s.1

Footnote d

R.S., c. 13 (3rd Supp.) s.1

Footnote e

S.C. 1991, c. 28, s. 3

Footnote 1

C.R.C., c. 604; SOR/89-251

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