Tariff Relief on Machinery and Equipment

Happy New Year!

There was some great news for our Machinery and Equipment clients in Canada's Economic Action Plan - 2009 Budget. There are over 200 tariff's that are affected, and we are working diligently here at A & A to ensure your items will receive the lowest possible duty rates under these new changes. More information is provided below. If you have any questions, please contact our Consulting Team at consulting@aacb.com

Providing over $440 million in savings for Canadian industry over the next five years by permanently eliminating tariffs on a range of machinery and equipment.

Tariff Relief on Machinery and Equipment

With almost 90 per cent of all imports entering the country duty free, Canada is one of the world's most open economies. Still, tariffs continue to apply on several goods imported from outside North America, including certain machinery and equipment used by Canadian industry.

Budget 2009 proposes to permanently eliminate tariffs on a range of machinery and equipment. This measure will lower costs for Canadian producers in a variety of sectors, such as forestry, energy and food processing, which must purchase specialized equipment from overseas to modernize their operations and enhance competitiveness. This measure will affect close to $2 billion in annual imports of machinery and equipment and provide over $440 million in savings for Canadian industry over the next five years. The Government will undertake further consultations with Canadian businesses to identify additional areas where tariff relief could be provided.

Budget 2009 will also take steps to facilitate the movement of goods by improving the Customs Tariff rules respecting the treatment of temporarily imported cargo containers, and undertake consultations with respect to further liberalizing the use of these containers in Canada.