The Treasurer’s Guide to Trade Finance

Canada

Principal exports

Motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery,

aircraft, telecommunications equipment,

chemicals, plastics, fertilisers, wood pulp, timber,

crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity and

aluminium.

Documentation

Imports

ƒ Commercial invoice or Canada Customs

invoice, cargo control document, bill of

lading, packing list and, sometimes, a

certificate of origin.

Exports

ƒ Export declaration, which can be made via

the Canadian Automated Export Declaration

(CAED) system or the G7 Electronic Data

Interchange (EDI) Export Reporting system,

or the B13A paper form. The B13A paper

form is being phased out.

ƒ Commercial invoice and customs declaration.

Licences

Imports

ƒ Strategic items, certain endangered animal

and plant species, certain drugs, some

agricultural products and natural gas.

Exports

ƒ Goods/items that are subject to international

controls, some strategic and agricultural

items. The Canadian government publishes

a full Export Control List.

ƒ Export licences with quotas: exports of

softwood lumber products to the USA.

Tariffs/Taxes

Imports

ƒ Import taxes are generally low, except for

taxes on agricultural imports, such as dairy

products, eggs and poultry, and imports of

clothing, footwear, textiles and ships.

Exports

ƒ There are generally no taxes on exports,

although there is a tax on the export of

softwood lumber products to the USA and on

the export of some tobacco products.

Financing requirements for imports/

exports

ƒ None.

Prohibited items

Imports

ƒ Items that are prohibited in accordance with

UN Security Council resolutions.

Exports

ƒ Items that are prohibited in accordance with

UN Security Council resolutions.

Canada imports exports

Trade information

Key trading partners

Imports by origin

USA 49.5%

EU 11.7%

China 10.8%

Mexico 5.5%

Japan 2.9%

Other 19.6%

Source: WTO, September 2012

Exports by destination

USA 73.7%

EU 8.9%

China 3.8%

Japan 2.4%

Mexico 1.2%

Other 10%