WT/L/1036  
 
4 July 2018 
(18-4137) Page: 1/8 
General Council  
26-27 July 2018  Original: English/French  
 
CANADIAN TARIFF TREA TMENT FOR  
COMMONWEALTH CARIBBE AN COUNTRIES  
2018 REPORT OF THE G OVERNMENT OF CANADA ON THE  
TRADE -RELATED  PROVISIONS OF CARIBC AN 
The following communication, dated 2 8 June 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Canada.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.   CARIBCAN is an economic and trade development assistance program for the 
Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories established as a result o f a commitment by 
Canada at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Nassau in October 1985.  
1.2.  The objectives of CARIBCAN are to enhance Commonwealth Caribbean trade and export 
earnings, improve the trade and economic development prospects of the regi on, promote new 
investment opportunities, and encourage enhanced economic integration and co -operation.  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 comm odities originating in Commonwealth 
Caribbean countries.  
1.3.  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 Ag reement, "only to the extent necessary to permit the Government of Canada to 
provide duty -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 28 July 2015 the WTO extended the 
CARIBCAN waiver (WT/L/958) until 31 December 2023.  The conditions associated with the 
CARIBCAN waiver remain unchanged.  
1.4.  This report is being made in accordance with paragraph 3 of the WTO waiver of 28 July 2015 
and Article IX of the WTO Agreement.  
2  COUNTRY COVERAGE  
2.1.  The Customs Tariff  lists 18 countries or dependent territories which are eligible to receive the 
duty-free benefits accorded under CARIBC AN, namely:  Anguilla, Antigua -Barbuda, Bahamas, 
Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, 
Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines, Tr inidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.  No country or territory 
additions or deletions from this list have occurred since CARIBCAN was enacted on 15 June 1986.  WT/L/1036  
 
- 2 - 
 
  3  PRODUCT COVERAGE  
3.1.  There have been no amendments to CARIBCAN product coverage since the changes made in 
February 1998.  
3.2.  Today, product exclusions from the duty -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  
4.1.  The rules of origin for the purposes of the Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff (CCCT) 
treatment are set out in regulations enacted pursuant to Section 1 6 of the Customs Tariff . 
4.2.  To qualify for the duty -free treatment accorded to Commonwealth Caribbean countries, at 
least 60% 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% qualifying content may be cumulated from 
various CARIBCAN beneficiary countries or Canada.  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, eit her 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  
5.1.  Canada -CARIBCAN trade statistics are annexed in a s eries of tables to this report and include 
2017 trade data.  In general, these trade statistics indicate that:  
- In 2017, 98% of total Canadian imports from CARIBCAN beneficiaries entered Canada free 
of duty.  As shown in Annex III, just over $1.0 billion of this trade entered under MFN free 
rates while $4.4 million entered duty -free under General Pr eferential Tariff (GPT).  
$30.1  million of this trade entered under the preferential CARIBCAN tariff (CCCT).  Annex IV 
shows the top twenty -five commodity impor ts benefiting from the CARIBCAN preference.   
 
- Total Canada -CARIBCAN trade (exports plus imports) was CAN $1.9 billion in 2017.  The 
value of Canadian imports from the region has risen from $1.0 billion in 2007 to $1.1  billion 
in 2017.  The value of Canadi an exports to CARIBCAN countries has increased from 
$769 million in 2007 to $817 million in 2017.  
 
6  STATISTICAL ANNEXES:  
Annex I:   Total Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2007 - 2017 
 
Annex II:   Total Canadian exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2007 - 2017 
 
Annex III:   2017 Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment   
 
Annex IV:  Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered 
Canada under the CARIBCAN Duty -Free Tariff Treatment (CCCT) in 2017  
 
 
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  WT/L/1036  
 
- 3 - ANNEX I  
Total Canadian Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2007 – 2017  
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  
Anguilla  149 211 308 320 271 272 606 360 226 29 105 
Antigua and Barbuda  564 5,468  446 422 414 1,741  625 448 466 216 282 
Bahamas  63,303  73,519  30,995  55,121  21,881  146,573  44,069  92,051  35,720  13,641  12,901  
Barbados  8,117  8,498  8,663  9,680  6,921  9,578  18,851  12,942  11,557  11,888  12,173  
Belize  10,959  10,842  7,247  6,177  7,516  3,221  2,579  1,777  3,786  2,080  1,904  
Bermuda  3,192  1,910  10,968  1,389  979 29,015  17,709  31,013  35,319  38,650  30,160  
British Virgin Islands  1,994  13,246  720 622 821 1,102  28,258  2,529  1,520  938 2,868  
Cayman Islands  314 193 645 304 778 415 210 215 662 2,102  2,299  
Dominica  398 337 390 145 289 264 1,153  356 728 231 397 
Grenada  701 877 509 601 1,718  2,268  1,904  2,018  2,211  1,577  819 
Guyana  161,534  225,084  300,318  290,736  394,657  453,997  486,488  335,752  271,554  666,959  661,486  
Jamaica  370,906  327,580  164,764  161,934  275,412  101,951  205,772  264,949  241,310  204,888  191,258  
Montserrat  222 139 69 327 291 197 36 333 233 59 164 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and 
Nevis  4,270  5,236  7,033  8,092  9,166  9,638  8,784  6,249  4,072  2,971  3,503  
St. Lucia  313 155 2,289  203 273 268 349 423 509 692 688 
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines  568 136 219 162 259 170 173 126 110 143 71 
Trinidad and Tobago  413,473  341,400  314,955  459,179  388,961  246,424  188,761  557,843  342,388  189,494  176,076  
Turks and Caicos Islands  5,146  1,933  299 112 119 186 254 416 843 148 107 
Total:  1,046,123  1,016,764  850,837  995,526  1,110,726  1,007,280  1,006,581  1,309,800  953,214  1,136,706  1,097,261  
Source:  Statistics Canada.  
 
   
  WT/L/1036  
 
- 4 - ANNEX II  
Total Canadian Exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2007 -2017  
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  
Anguilla  1,386  2,590  1,833  865 2,318  607 850 1,007  1,271  1,612  1,873  
Antigua and Barbuda  17,174  21,194  20,095  19,211  9,590  18,273  15,172  10,112  9,990  8,495  8,328  
Bahamas  91,210  226,436  146,232  150,620  127,275  486,780  189,761  242,015  68,832  114,895  214,579  
Barbados  55,216  45,392  55,448  36,675  44,248  58,853  147,317  187,559  66,607  37,412  33,649  
Belize  6,395  6,594  5,544  5,536  4,976  7,464  7,295  19,133  9,258  10,597  14,799  
Bermuda  59,035  61,823  56,630  37,647  73,760  22,122  33,658  29,914  36,408  67,260  44,494  
British Virgin Islands  2,057  8,694  3,271  22,175  48,168  1,619  2,536  28,628  12,399  3,531  3,774  
Cayman Islands  55,092  14,019  6,403  6,224  6,993  8,189  58,645  8,136  8,345  9,674  23,332  
Dominica  4,531  5,619  4,386  4,447  3,748  3,864  4,595  6,157  4,551  3,452  5,717  
Grenada  5,928  5,653  5,535  5,092  4,423  5,288  4,537  5,648  5,786  7,608  8,664  
Guyana  25,710  20,318  27,705  28,076  35,385  25,201  17,902  25,081  23,849  34,114  26,056  
Jamaica  190,138  187,298  117,954  125,076  106,081  129,416  114,177  111,919  104,329  101,674  112,932  
Montserrat  252 383 272 226 325 380 264 164 232 256 503 
St. Christopher (Kitts) 
and Nevis  8,753  7,930  6,242  6,706  5,678  6,524  7,355  9,116  6,756  6,056  8,474  
St. Lucia  15,083  12,309  10,040  35,745  8,476  9,183  10,247  11,202  9,925  9,561  8,303  
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines  9,767  7,688  11,583  10,788  6,742  6,538  8,760  13,045  9,530  6,201  4,964  
Trinidad and Tobago  210,182  262,673  251,109  289,026  332,950  319,383  333,293  307,597  293,762  205,405  292,312  
Turks and Caicos Islands  11,556  7,044  6,181  4,290  1,814  2,076  1,738  2,574  3,674  2,697  4,481  
Total:  769,465  903,657  736,463  788,425  822,950  1,111,760  958,102  1,019,007  675,504  630,500  817,234  
Source:  Statistics Canada.  
Notes:  Includes Canadian domestic exports only.  
 
 
   
  WT/L/1036  
 
- 5 - ANNEX III ( i) 
Duty Free  2017 Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment  
(in Canadian dollars)  
Country  Total Imports  MFN Free  GPT Free  Caribcan (CCCT) 
Free Total Free  Total Free as % 
of Total Imports  
Anguilla  104,516  32,279  0 0 32,279  31% 
Antigua and Barbuda  282,184  73,063  0 9,767  82,830  29% 
Bahamas  12,900,848  10,068,395  0 617,645  10,686,040  83% 
Barbados  12,173,305  2,538,456  0 7,080,199  9,618,655  79% 
Belize  1,904,293  1,134,486  215,787  297,312  1,647,585  87% 
Bermuda  30,160,034  28,759,055  0 52,667  28,811,722  96% 
British Virgin Islands  2,868,173  2,726,916  0 0 2,726,916  95% 
Cayman Islands  2,298,761  2,178,666  0 0 2,178,666  95% 
Dominica  397,183  353,292  0 0 353,292  89% 
Grenada  818,950  787,658  0 0 787,658  96% 
Guyana  661,486,281  653,570,485  4,199,527  1,457,426  659,227,438  100%  
Jamaica  191,257,663  166,072,608  0 17,079,073  183,151,681  96% 
Montserrat  164,291  140,102  0 0 140,102  85% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis  3,502,483  3,177,718  0 0 3,177,718  91% 
Saint Lucia  688,181  406,544  0 69,360  475,904  69% 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines  71,480  45,787  0 15,559  61,346  86% 
Trinidad and Tobago  176,076,138  164,545,406  0 3,458,276  168,003,682  95% 
Turks and Caicos Islands  107,081  98,452  0 0 98,452  92% 
Total  1,097,261,845  1,036,709,368  4,415,314  30,137,284  1,071,261,966  98%  
Source:  Statistics Canada.  
 
 
 
   
  WT/L/1036  
 
- 6 - ANNEX III ( ii) 
Dutiable  2017 imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment  
(in Canadian dollars)  
Country  Total Imports  MFN Dutiable  GPT Dutiable  Caribcan 
Dutiable  Total Dutiable  Total Dutiable 
as % of Total 
Imports  
Anguilla  104,516  72,237  0 0 72,237  69% 
Antigua and Barbuda  282,184  199,354  0 0 199,354  71% 
Bahamas  12,900,848  2,214,808  0 0 2,214,808  17% 
Barbados  12,173,305  3,094,650  0 0 3,094,650  25% 
Belize  1,904,293  256,708  0 0 256,708  13% 
Bermuda  30,160,034  1,348,312  0 0 1,348,312  4% 
British Virgin Islands  2,868,173  141,257  0 0 141,257  5% 
Cayman Islands  2,298,761  120,095  0 0 120,095  5% 
Dominica  397,183  43,891  0 0 43,891  11% 
Grenada  818,950  31,292  0 0 31,292  4% 
Guyana  661,486,281  2,205,483  53,360  0 2,258,843  0% 
Jamaica  191,257,663  8,105,982  0 0 8,105,982  4% 
Montserrat  164,291  24,189  0 0 24,189  15% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis  3,502,483  324,765  0 0 324,765  9% 
Saint Lucia  688,181  21,277  0 0 212,277  31% 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines  71,480  10,134  0 0 10,134  14% 
Trinidad and Tobago  176,076,138  8,072,456  0 0 8,072,456  5% 
Turks and Caicos Islands  107,081  8,629  0 0 8,629  8% 
Total  1,097,261,845  26,295,519  53,360  0 26,539,879  2% 
Source:  Statistics Canada.  
 
 WT/L/1036  
 
- 7 - 
 
  ANNEX IV  
Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada under 
CARIBCAN Duty -Free Tariff Treatment (CCCT) in 2017  
(in Canadian Dollars)  
HS Tariff  Description  Imports under 
CARIBCAN 
Treatment 
(CCCT)  
22084010  Rum 6,720,648  
22071010  Undenatured ethyl alcohol >= 80% vol . for use in the manufacture of 
spirituous or alcoholic beverages  5,374,167  
21039020  Mixed condiments and  mixed seasonings  3,108,765  
20089930  Akalas, akees, anchovy pears, apple -pears, avocados, bananas, banana 
chips (thin banana slices fried or otherwise prepared whether or not 
salted, sweetened or otherwise flavoured), bread fruit, carambolas, 
chayotes, ch erimoyas (Jamaica apples)….  2,409,855  
07143000  Yams ( Dioscorea spp. ) 2,284,311  
22021000  Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added 
sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured  1,232,979  
22029090  Other [nectars]  1,146,606  
19059039  Other [bread]  1,063,962  
21039090  Other [sauces]  802,893  
19053192  Sweet biscuits containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, in packages 
of a weight not exceeding 1.36 kg each, over access commitment  765,051  
19059043  Other biscuits:  Containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, in 
packages of a weight not exceeding 1.36 kg each, over access 
commitment  620,322  
03061100  Rock lobster and other sea crawfish ( Palinurus spp ., Panulirus spp. , 
Jasus spp. ) 558,755  
17049090  Other [sugar confectionary, not containing cocoa]  326,308  
04063010  Processed cheese, not grated or powdered, within access commitment  251,065  
07142000  Sweet potatoes  249,282  
19059049  Other biscuits [Containing less than 25% by weight of wheat]  246,761  
12119010  Herbal "tea" in bags for individual servings  232,577  
20059990  Other [Other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables]  222,256  
19021929  Other [pasta, containing flour and water only]  160,511  
19053122  Other biscuits valued at 44 ¢/kg or more containing 25% or more by 
weight of wheat, in packages not exceeding 1.36 kg, over access 
commitment  157,949  
22042110  Wine of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 13.7% volume in 
containers holding 2 litres or less  148,204  
09109900  Other [Spices]  113,888  WT/L/1036  
 
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  HS Tariff  Description  Imports under 
CARIBCAN 
Treatment 
(CCCT)  
19053191  Other biscuits, conta ining 25% or more by weight of wheat, within 
access commitment  112,769  
22029939  Other beverages [containing milk]  110,359  
20079990  Other [jams, jellies, purées]  110,111  
Source:  Statistics Canada import data . 
 
 
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