August 14, 2008

Canada has announced import limits for poultry and dairy products under the Special Safeguard Measure of the WTO to protect supply management.
 

The government will implement the special safety measures in February 2009, according to agriculture minister Gerry Ritz.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has completed the calculations the price and volume of imports which would trigger tariffs increase to protect domestic products.

WTO's special safeguard measure is meant to respond to sudden import increases or significant cuts in import prices for products subject to tariffs. It allows the increasing of existing tariffs on over-quota imports by up to one-third. However, the increased tariffs must be temporary and apply only to over-quota imports.

Agriculture Canada will monitor imports should action be triggered, Ritz would have to send a report to the Minister of Finance who would then sign a surtax order.

There are both price and volume triggers and WTO's price trigger is 90-percent lower than the average import price recorded by Statistics Canada from 1986-1988.

Alternatively, if import volumes exceed the most recent three-year average by 125 percent, the special safeguard tariff can be activated. When volume triggers a tariff, it can only be applied for the remainder of the calendar year and which after has to be recalculated.