Extension of Duty Relief for Ukraine Goods

Summary#

The Order Amending the Ukraine Goods Remission Order extends Canada’s temporary duty relief for imports from Ukraine. The extension runs to June 9, 2024, with the measure already put into force when the order was registered on June 8, 2023.

What it does#

• Extends remission (temporary removal) of customs duties, anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties for goods originating in Ukraine to June 9, 2024.
• Excludes certain over-access supply-managed products (mainly dairy, poultry and eggs) from that extension after June 9, 2023, unless those shipments were already in transit to Canada by that date.
• Adds a schedule of specific tariff item numbers to identify the excluded products.
• Sets the Order to be repealed on June 9, 2026.
• Continues to allow remission under the Customs Tariff and the Special Import Measures Act during the temporary period.

Who's affected#

• Ukrainian exporters and Canadian businesses that import goods from Ukraine.
• Canadian producers and processors in supply-managed sectors: dairy, poultry and eggs.
• Small businesses that import Ukrainian goods and may save paperwork or duties.
• Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which will continue to administer and monitor the measure.
• The general public may notice effects only indirectly (through trade or domestic supply), and it is unclear exactly how large those effects will be.

Why it matters#

• The extension aims to help Ukraine’s economy by making it easier and cheaper to export goods to Canada for one more year.
• So far, imports under the original remission from June 9, 2022 through May 2023 led to about $7.5 million in duties being remitted.
• The government expects about $3.2 million in duties to be remitted between June 9, 2023 and June 9, 2024. That is effectively a temporary transfer from public revenues to Canadian importers and to Ukrainian exporters.
• To protect domestic producers, the change carves out over‑access supply‑managed products from the extension after June 9, 2023, limiting risk to production planning in those sectors.
• Small importers may see small administrative savings (about 1 minute per shipment for roughly 179 importers processing 7,676 transactions a year, totalling about $387 in annual time-cost savings by the government’s estimate).