WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/414
17 September 2001
(01-4387)
General Council
10 October 2001Original:  English/
French
CANADA – TARIFF TREATMENT FOR COMMONWEALTH
CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES
Report of the Government of Canada on the
Trade-Related Provisions of CARIBCAN
Under the Decision of 14 October 19961
The following communication, dated 5 September 2001, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Canada.
_______________
1. Introduction
1. CARIBCAN is an economic and trade development assistance programme for the
Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories established as a result of a commitment by Canada
at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Nassau in October 1985.
2. The objectives of CARIBCAN are to enhance Commonwealth Caribbean trade and export
earnings, improve the trade and economic development prospects of the region, promote new
investment opportunities, and encourage enhanced economic integration and cooperation.  The main
feature of CARIBCAN is the unilateral extension by Canada, beginning on 15 June 1986, of duty free
access to the Canadian market for most commodities originating in Commonwealth Caribbean
countries.
3. On 28 November 1986, a decision by the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) waived until 15 June 1998, the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the
General Agreement, "only to the extent necessary to permit the Government of Canada to provideduty-free treatment to eligible imports of Commonwealth Caribbean countries benefiting from the
provisions of CARIBCAN, without being required to extend the same duty-free treatment to like
products of any other contracting party" (L/6102).  On 14 October 1996, the WTO extended the
CARIBCAN waiver until 31 December 2006 (WT/L/185).  The conditions associated with the
CARIBCAN waiver remain unchanged.
4. This report is being made in accordance with paragraph 3 of the WTO waiver of
14 October 1996 and Article IX of the WTO Agreement.
                                                     
1 WT/L/185.WT/L/414
Page 2
2. Country Coverage
5. The Customs Tariff lists 18 countries or dependent territories which are eligible to receive the
duty-free benefits accorded under CARIBCAN:  Anguilla, Antigua-Barbuda, The Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada,
Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and theGrenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.  No additions or deletions from
this list have occurred since CARIBCAN was enacted on 15 June 1986.
3. Product Coverage
6. There have been no amendments to CARIBCAN product coverage since the changes made in
February 1998.
7. Today, product exclusions from the du ty-free provisions of CARIBCAN are:
- goods of HS Chapters 50 to 65 inclusive;
- goods covered by tariff items with “over access commitment” rates of duty
established in the “tariffication” process .
4. Rules of Origin
8. The rules of origin for the purposes of the Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff
Treatment are set out in regulations enacted pursuant to Section 24 of the Customs Tariff.
9. To qualify for the duty free treatment accorded to Commonwealth Caribbean countries, at
least 60 per cent of the ex-factory price of the goods as packed for shipment to Canada must originate
in one or more beneficiary countries or Canada.  The 60 per cent qualifying content may be cumulatedfrom various CARIBCAN beneficiary countries or Ca nada.  The goods must be finished in the
beneficiary country in the form in which they are imported into Canada.  Pursuant to the Proof of
Origin Regulations, either a duly completed Certificate of Origin, Form A, or a written statement of
origin signed by the exporter, must be presented to Customs at the time of release, accounting or
refund.
5. Trade under CARIBCAN
10. Canada-CARIBCAN trade statistics are annexed in a series of tables to this report and include
2000 trade data.  In general, these trade statistics indicate that:
- In 2000, more than Can$520 million or 96 per cent of total Canadian imports from
CARIBCAN beneficiaries entered Canada free of duty.  Can$61.9 million of this
trade entered under preferential CARIBCAN tariffs. Annex V shows the top
25 commodity imports benefiting from the CARIBCAN preference. As shown inAnnex III, Can$435 m illion of this trade entered under MFN free rates while
Can$23.6 million entered under General Preferential Tariff (GPT).
- Total Canada-CARIBCAN trade (exports plus imports) has grown from
Can$576 million in 1991 to almost Can$1 billion in 2000.  The value of Canadianimports from the region has risen from Can$290 million in 1991 to Can$540 million
in 2000.  Despite some fluctuations the value of Canadian exports to CARIBCAN
countries has risen from Can$285 million in 1991 to Can$430 million in 2000.WT/L/414
Page 3
6. Statistical Annexes
Annex I: Total Imports form CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1991 - 2000
Annex II: Total Canadian exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1991- 2000
Annex III: 2000 Imports from CARIBCAN Be neficiaries by Tariff Treatment
Annex IV: Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered
Canada under the CARIBCAN Duty Free Tariff Treatment in 2000WT/L/414
Page 4 Total Canadian Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1991 – 2000 Annex I
(thousands of Canadian dollars)
Country 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Anguilla - - - 5 - 11 41 7 8 9
Antigua - Barbuda 200 394 393 368 389 1,857 1,256 2,698 402 10,380
Bahamas 38,769 50,097 34,806 44,867 16, 715 23,432 8,056 22,002 25,959 14,003
Barbados 13,510 6,025 9,594 14,098 16,99 0 15,703 13,736 11,722 10,652 7,375
Belize 7,447 6,634 11,419 17,686 11, 688 7,953 12,737 8,263 14,027 9,868
Bermuda 6,366 20,378 4,315 13,988 4 ,173 2,317 3,751 7,602 19,689 17,614
British Virgin
Islands16 10 44 37 91 1,299 199 615 614 1,376
Cayman Islands 321 489 1,628 586 638 1,968 624 1,070 654 522
Dominica 196 67 206 423 2,381 1,180 1,390 1,910 1,642 1,698
Grenada 420 321 337 440 639 559 1,112 1,067 1,602 1,523
Guyana 30,824 39,018 152,172 203,865 171,20 8 204,033 203,375 203,107 192,020 197,800
Jamaica 150,509 166,546 181,495 211,328 199, 952 239,135 257,507 256,384 201,074 197,727
Montserrat 59 120 15 78 18 203 341 28 248 94
Saint Lucia 280 350 245 463 1,222 1,602 1,287 1,595 580 4,399
Saint Christopher
and Nevis84 - 225 1,888 2,937 2,958 4,426 4,494 5,120 1,413
Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines483 387 210 247 183 138 137 200 152 404
Trinidad & Tobago 40,800 38,101 23,108 16,12 2 18,469 46,599 26,215 34,157 73,688 72,327
Turks & Caicos
Islands- - - 66 17 93 338 686 1,823 1,647
Total: 290,284 328,937 420,212 526,555 447,89 0 551,046 536,630 557,608 549,954 540,178
Source:  Statistics Canada.
Note:  A dash (-) indicates that an amount is nil or negligible.WT/L/414
Page 5Total Canadian Exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1991-2000 Annex II
(thousands of Canadian dollars)
Country 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Anguilla 308 331 272 127 548 588 881 1,007 673 651
Antigua - Barbuda 8,975 9,326 9,014 6, 022 6,160 28,133 9,384 8,492 11,402 10,727
Bahamas 48,336 20,870 16,949 15,170 15, 231 19,292 21,610 24,513 26,301 26,018
Barbados 35,385 20,469 20,490 33,459 31, 554 35,872 37,193 36,396 41,087 33,783
Belize 3,067 3,532 12,543 4,776 4,232 2,586 9,847 3,760 3,332 2,598
Bermuda 27,208 38,472 41,891 22,004 34, 302 33,453 39,177 40,165 42,973 34,540
British Virgin Islands 625 1,435 1,010 4,551 1,381 898 3,417 2,628 28,743 60,187
Cayman Islands 1,725 4,601 1,885 4, 483 11,490 7,281 1,369 12,266 8,127 8,286
Dominica 1,027 1,368 1,672 1,613 1,891 2,238 1,840 3,236 5,560 4,436
Grenada 4,264 2,656 3,863 1,936 3,789 4,649 3,321 4,901 4,839 4,023
Guyana 13,592 6,034 9,118 5,517 8,144 11,171 10,671 9,968 14,655 8,073
Jamaica 73,259 64,940 85,549 89,578 96, 645 90,784 86,937 98,032 96,699 99,815
Montserrat 312 301 248 208 128 185 149 81 83 289
Saint Lucia 7,229 6,811 7,400 10,425 12,521 5,426 8,729 11,493 12,524 9,683
Saint Christopher and Nevis 1,348 1,531 1,680 4,098 2,498 2,560 2,011 5,675 10,646 9,633
Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines2,357 3,277 2,630 3,015 2,815 3,116 4,063 3,676 4,633 4,906
Trinidad & Tobago 56,168 55,646 53,023 65,19 2 94,658 83,913 102,544 129,703 161,936 110,822
Turks & Caicos Islands 201 1,287 557 387 654 514 537 1,379 2,357 2,341
Total: 285,386 242,887 269,794 272,561 328,64 1 332,667 343,680 397,371 476,570 430,811
Source:  Statistics Canada.
Note:  A dash (-) indicates that an amount is nil or negligible.  Includes Canadian domestic exports only.WT/L/414
Page 6
Annex III(i)
Duty Free 2000 Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment
(in Canadian dollars)
Country Total
ImportsMFN Free GPT Free CARIBCAN
FreeTotal Free Total Free as
% of Total
Imports
Anguilla 8,547 6,548 - - 6,548 77%
Antigua and Barbuda 10,379,972 10,291,224 32,975 - 10,324,199 99%
Bahamas 14,003,031 4,140,892 0 8,496,674 12,637,566 90%
Barbados 7,374,583 1,988,262 78,649 3,460,304 5,540,488 75%
Belize 9,868,395 2,879,550 6,343,917 99,513 9,322,980 94%
Bermuda 17,614,204 9,800,931 7,648,059 184 17,449,174 99%
British Virgin Islands 1,375,730 1,069,448 33,400 - 1,102,848 80%
Cayman Islands 521,935 489,931 2,686 699 493,316 95%
Dominica 1,698,215 970,222 612 72,815 1,043,037 61%
Grenada 1,522,501 1,519,020 - 1,735 1,521,367 100%
Guyana 197,800,320 195,019,051 1,736,372 198,585 196,954,008 100%
Jamaica 197,727,128 165,815,657 7,571,256 14,454,819 187,845,466 95%
Montserrat 94,020 93,597 - - 93,597 100%
Saint Kitts/Nevis 4,398,569 4,159,525 52,204 4,211,729 96%
Saint Lucia 1,413,102 496,364 29,795 1,077 527,236 37%
Saint Vincent/Grenadines 403,676 348,677 54,975 - 403,652 100%
Trinidad and Tobago 72,326,954 34,45 8,960 81,942 35,149,688 69,708,867 96%
Turks/Caicos Islands 1,647,155 1,544,826 - - 1,544,826 94%
Total 540,178,037 435,092,685 23,614,638 61,988,297 520,730,904 96%
Source:  Statistic Canada.WT/L/414
Page 7
Annex III(ii)
Dutiable 2000 imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment
(in Canadian dollars)
Country Total
ImportsMFN
DutiableGPT
DutiableCARIBCAN
DutiableTotal
DutiableTotal Dutiable
as % of Total
Imports
Anguilla 8,547 1,999 - - 1,999 23%
Antigua and Barbuda 10,379,972 55,773 0 - 55,773 1%
Bahamas 14,003,031 646,244 474,831 244,390 1,365,465 10%
Barbados 7,374,583 635,372 933,286 265,437 1,834,095 25%
Belize 9,868,395 545,415 0 0 545,415 6%
Bermuda 17,614,204 162,277 0 2,753 165,030 1%
British Virgin Islands 1,375,730 92,923 101,097 - 272,882 20%
Cayman Islands 521,935 27,948 671 0 28,619 5%
Dominica 1,698,215 655,178 0 655,178 39%
Grenada 1,522,501 177 0 0 1,134 0%
Guyana 197,800,320 123,011 228,025 312 846,312 0%
Jamaica 197,727,128 8,379,391 1,060,155 182,524 9,881,662 5%
Montserrat 94,020 423 - - 423 0%
Saint Kitts/Nevis 4,398,569 186,840 0 186,840 4%
Saint Lucia 1,413,102 885,866 0 0 885,866 63%
Saint Vincent/Grenadines 403,676 24 0 - 24 0%
Trinidad and Tobago 72,326,954 2,460,113 102,096 55,388 2,618,087 4%
Turks/Caicos Islands 1,647,155 102,329 - - 102,329 6%
Total 540,178,037 14,961,303 2,900,161 750,804 19,447,133 4%
Source:  Statistic Canada.WT/L/414
Page 8
Annex IV
Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIB CAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada
Under CARIBCAN Duty Free Tariff Treatment in 1999 (in Canadian Dollars)
HS
Tariff ItemsDescription Imports Under
CARIBCAN Tariff
Treatment
72031000 Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore 14,658,185
03061100 Rock lobster and other sea crawfish (Palinurus spp., Panulirus spp.,
Jasus spp.) 8,934,228
72139999 Other 6,601,190
29051100 Methanol (methyl alcohol) 3,136,497
72139110 Of a diameter not exceeding 9.525 mm, for use in the manufacture of
wire 2,964,596
20059020 Artichokes (globe or Chinese), bamboo shoots, cactus leaves (nopales),
cardoons, chickpeas (garbanzos), cilantro (Chinese or Mexican parsley
or Yen Sai), jicama, leaf chervils, malanga, okra, peas (Angola,
catjang, no-eye, pigeon), spinach, tamarillos 2,532,523
07099090 Other 2,226,194
72139190 Other 2,155,317
22084010 Rum 1,885,349
20089930 Akalas, akees, anchovy pears, apple-pears, avocados, bananas, banana
chips (thin banana slices fried or otherwise prepared whether or notsalted, sweetened or otherwise flavoured), bread fruit, carambolas,chayotes, cherimoyas (Jamaica apples), dasheens 1,658,873
22071010 For use as a spirituous or alcoholic beverage or for use in the
manufacture of spirituous or alcoholic beverages 1,261,807
85369091 Junction boxes;
Receptacle boxes of metal 1,244,022
07142000 Sweet potatoes 1,203,149
39233090 Other 1,092,202
21039020 Mixed condiments and mixed seasonings 1,009,559
22021000 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added
sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured975,802
07149090 Other 717,550
72143090 Other 650,923
19059049 Other 583,415
19019020 Food preparations of flour, meal, starch or malt extract 512,938
19059020 Bread, leavened with yeast;
Unleavened bread for sacramental purposes and communion wafers 370,306
19053099 Other 340,122
21039090 Other 327,683
21069099 Other 268,835
03062100 Rock lobster and other sea crawfish (Palinurus spp., Panulirus spp.,
Jasus spp.) 263,390
09109990 Other 251,829
Source:  Statistic Canada.
__________