IMPORTANT NOTICE: The new CUSMA
A very important notice to all our North American clients, importers, exporters and manufacturers
If your company is currently claiming NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) preferential treatment for your imports into Canada from the United States and Mexico, or for your exports from Canada to the United States and Mexico, be advised that NAFTA WILL BE REPLACED BY a new free trade agreement on July 1, 2020.
The new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) takes effect July 1, 2020.
For your shipments (import or export) which will be customs cleared on or after July 1, you will no longer be able to claim the NAFTA preferential treatment in Canada, the United States or Mexico. As of July 1, for products “originating” in North America, you will have to claim a preferential treatment under the new CUSMA treaty.
NEW CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN WILL BE REQUIRED!
AS OF JULY 1, customs authorities (e.g. CBSA and U.S. CBP) will not accept a NAFTA Certificate of Origin to claim the CUSMA “duty-free” treatment. For your 2020 blanket certificates of origin, prepared according to NAFTA, these will apply up to June 30, 2020, only. Effective July 1, the product must be certified as an “originating” good per a CUSMA Certification of Origin.
Unlike NAFTA, the new agreement does not call for a prescribed form. Instead, CUSMA requires a Certification of Origin, which can be included on a commercial invoice or a separate document, insofar as this new Certification contains all the mandatory minimum data elements set out in Chapter 5 / Annex 5-A of CUSMA.
To allow W2C to apply the “duty-free” treatment under CUSMA to your products that will be customs cleared on or after July 1, W2C must be in possession of a valid CUSMA Certification of Origin, included either on the commercial invoice, Canada Customs Invoice or Proforma Invoice; or included on a CUSMA Certificate of Origin template of any format that contains all of the prescribed minimum data elements.
See also additional information on the CUSMA Certification of Origin, as published by the CBSA.
W2C has developed a CUSMA Certification of Origin template which you can access via the “Resources” tab available on our website: https://w2c.ca/en/resources/.
Also be advised that the “Rules of Origin” (NAFTA vs. CUSMA) for several products (HS Codes), have changed. Before goods produced in Canada, the United States or Mexico can be certified on a Certification of Origin, they must qualify as an “originating” product under the “Rules of Origin” of the new CUSMA agreement. A product previously certified under NAFTA is not valid if imported/exported on or after July 1. Such a product must be re-qualified and re-certified under the new CUSMA rules.
For more information, please visit our blog to read various articles on CUSMA, register for one of our seminars on CUSMA, or contact your W2C representative.