WT/L/1013  
 
13 July 2017  
(17-3773) Page: 1/7 
General Council  
26-27 July 2017  Original: Engli sh/French  
 
CANADIAN TARIFF TREA TMENT FOR  
COMMONWEALTH CARIBBE AN COUNTRIES  
 
2017 REPORT OF THE G OVERNMENT OF CANADA ON THE   
TRADE -RELATED PROVISIONS O F CARIBCAN  
The following communication, dated 11 July 2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Ca nada.  
 
_______________  
 
 
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  CARIBCAN is an economic and trade development assistance program for the Commonwealth 
Caribbean countries and territories established as a result of a commitment by Canada at the 
Commonwealth Heads of Government meetin g 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 region, promote new 
investment opportunities, and encourage enhanced econom ic 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 commodities 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 Agreement, "only to the extent necessary to permit the Government of Canad a 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). O n 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 Artic le 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 ac corded under CARIBCAN, 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, Trinidad and Tobago, and  the Turks and Caicos Islands. No country or territor y 
additions or deletions from this list have occurred since CARIBCAN was enacted on 15 June 1986.  WT/L/1013  
 
- 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 t he Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff (CCCT) 
treatment are set out in regulations enacted pursuant to Section 16 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 be neficiary countries or Canada. The 60%  qualifying content may be cumulated from 
various CARIBCAN beneficiary countries or Canada . The goods must be finished in the benefic iary 
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 th e time of release, accounting or 
refund.  
5  TRADE UNDER CARIBCAN  
5.1.  Canada -CARIBCAN trade statistics are annexed in a series of tables to this report and include 
2016 trade data.  In general, these trade statistics indicate that:  
- In 2016, 98% of total Canadian  imports from CARIBCAN beneficiaries entered Canada free 
of duty.  As shown in Annex III, $1.0 billion of this trade entered under MFN free rates while 
$4.4 million entered duty -free under General Preferentia l Tariff (GPT). $90 million of this 
trade entere d under the prefer ential CARIBCAN tariff (CCCT). Annex IV shows the top 
twenty -five commodity imports benefiting from the CARIBCAN preference.   
 
- Total Canada -CARIBCAN trade (exports plus imports) was CAN $ 1.7 billion in 2016. The 
value of Canadian imports  from the region has risen fr om $954 million in 2006 to 
$1.1 billion in 2016. The value of Canadian exports to CARIBCAN countries has decreased 
from $692 million in 2006 to $631 million in 2016.  
 
6  STATISTICAL ANNEXES:  
Annex I:   Total Imports from CARIBCAN B eneficiaries 2006 - 2016 
 
Annex II:   Total Canadian exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2006 - 2016 
 
Annex III:   2016 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 2016  
 
 
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  WT/L/1013  
 
- 3 - ANNEX I  
Total Canadian Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2006 – 2016  
 
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  
Anguilla 153 149 211 308 320 271 272 606 360 226 29 
Antigua and Barbuda  407 564 5,468  446 422 414 1,741  625 448 466 216 
Bahamas  23,274  63,303  73,519  30,995  55,121  21,881  146,573  44,069  92,051  35,720  13,641  
Barbados  13,615  8,117  8,498  8,663  9,680  6,921  9,578  18,851  12,942  11,557  11,888  
Belize  9,558  10,959  10,842  7,247  6,177  7,516  3,221  2,579  1,777  3,786  2,080  
Bermuda  16,783  3,192  1,910  10,968  1,389  979 29,015  17,709  31,013  35,319  38,650  
British Virgin Islands  4,120  1,994  13,246  720 622 821 1,102  28,258  2,529 1,520  938 
Cayman Islands  280 314 193 645 304 778 415 210 215 662 2,102  
Dominica  253 398 337 390 145 289 264 1,153  356 728 231 
Grenada  957 701 877 509 601 1,718  2,268  1,904  2,018  2,211  1,577  
Guyana  142,093  161,534  225,084  300,318  290,736  394,657  453,997 486,488  335,752  271,554  666,959  
Jamaica  418,261  370,906  327,580  164,764  161,934  275,412  101,951  205,772  264,949  241,310  204,888  
Montserrat  542 222 139 69 327 291 197 36 333 233 59 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and 
Nevis  8,798  4,270  5,236  7,033  8,092  9,166  9,638  8,784  6,249  4,072  2,971  
St. Lucia  164 313 155 2,289  203 273 268 349 423 509 692 
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines  297 568 136 219 162 259 170 173 126 110 143 
Trinidad and Tobago  307,597  413,473  341,400  314,955  459,179  388,961  246,424  188,761  557,843  342,388  189,494  
Turks and Caicos Islands  6,917  5,146  1,933  299 112 119 186 254 416 843 148 
Total:  954,069  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  
Source:  Statistics Canada.  
 
  
  WT/L/1013  
 
- 4 - ANNEX II  
Total Canadia n Exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2006 -2016  
 
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  
Anguilla  1,564  1,386  2,590  1,833  865 2,318  607 850 1,007  1,271  1,612  
Antigua and Barbuda  68,527  17,174  21,194  20,095 19,211  9,590  18,273  15,172  10,112  9,990  8,495  
Bahamas  51,275  91,210  226,436  146,232  150,620  127,275  486,780  189,761  242,015  68,832  114,895  
Barbados  59,411  55,216  45,392  55,448  36,675  44,248  58,853  147,317  187,559  66,607  37,412  
Belize  8,693  6,395  6,594 5,544  5,536  4,976  7,464  7,295  19,133  9,258  10,597  
Bermuda  68,131  59,035  61,823  56,630  37,647  73,760  22,122  33,658  29,914  36,408  67,260  
British Virgin Islands  3,672  2,057  8,694  3,271  22,175  48,168  1,619  2,536  28,628  12,399  3,531  
Cayman Islands  33,523  55,092  14,019  6,403  6,224  6,993  8,189  58,645  8,136  8,345  9,674  
Dominica  5,456  4,531  5,619  4,386  4,447  3,748  3,864  4,595  6,157  4,551  3,452  
Grenada  6,550  5,928  5,653  5,535  5,092  4,423  5,288  4,537  5,648  5,786  7,608  
Guyana  22,968  25,710  20,318  27,705  28,07 6 35,385  25,201  17,902  25,081  23,849  34,114  
Jamaica  142,636  190,138  187,298  117,954  125,076  106,081  129,416  114,177  111,919  104,329  101,674  
Montserrat  364 252 383 272 226 325 380 264 164 232 256 
St. Christopher 
(Kitts) and Nevis  7,101  8,753  7,930  6,242  6,706  5,678  6,524  7,355  9,116  6,756  6,056  
St. Lucia  11,494  15,083  12,309  10,040  35,745  8,476  9,183  10,247  11,202  9,925  9,561  
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines  9,830  9,767  7,688  11,583  10,788  6,742  6,538  8,760  13,045  9,530  6,201  
Trinidad and Tobago  178,797  210,182  262,673  251,109  289,026  332,950  319,383  333,293  307,597  293,762  205,405  
Turks and Caicos 
Islands  12,387  11,556  7,044  6,181  4,290  1,814  2,076  1,738  2,574  3,674  2,697  
Total:  692,379  769,465  903,657  736,463  788,425  822,950  1,111,760  958,102  1,019,00 7 675,504  630,500  
Source:  Statistics Canada.  
Notes:  Includes Canadian domestic exports only.  
 
  
  WT/L/1013  
 
- 5 - ANNEX III  (i) 
Duty Free  2016 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  28,822  24,246  0 38 24,284  84% 
Antigua and Barbuda  216,037  102,198  0 1,308  103,506  48% 
Bahamas  13,640,987  9,793,411  0 893,840  10,687,251  78% 
Barbados  11,888,329  754,435  0 8,892,191  9,646,626  81% 
Belize  2,079,901  1,416,038  165,277  370,203  1,951,518  94% 
Bermuda  38,649,516  37,551,617  0 4,496  37,556,113  97% 
British Virgin Islands  937,849  744,147  0 0 744,147  79% 
Cayman Islands  2,101,891  2,048,963  0 0 2,048,963  97% 
Dominica  230,742  172,170  0 120 172,290  75% 
Grenada  1,577,280  964,874  0 542,483  1,507,357  96% 
Guyana  666,959,151  605,977,070  4,197,179  55,202,705  665,376,954  100%  
Jamaica  204,888,339  175,861,614  0 20,886,092  196,757,706  96% 
Montserrat  59,461  43,042  0 0 43,042  72% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis  2,970,920  2,673,289  0 0 2,673,289  90% 
Saint Lucia  691,822  308,098  0 48,463  356,561  52% 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines  143,345  69,962  0 16,542  86,504  60% 
Trinidad and Tobago  189,493,567  178,429,852  0 3,754,794  182,184,646  96% 
Turks and Caicos Islands  147,672  138,292  0 0 138,292  94% 
Total  1,136,705,631  1,017,073,318  4,362,456  90,613,275  1,112,059,049  98%  
Source:  Statistics Canada.   
  WT/L/1013  
 
- 6 - ANNEX III ( ii) 
Dutiable  2016 imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries by Tariff Treatment  
 
(in Canadian dollar s) 
Country  Total Imports  MFN Dutiable  GPT 
Dutiable  Caribcan 
Dutiable  Total Dutiable  Total Dutiable as 
% of Total 
Imports  
Anguilla  28,822  4,538  0 0 4,538  16% 
Antigua and Barbuda  216,037  112,531  0 0 112,531  52% 
Bahamas  13,640,987  2,953,736  0 0 2,953,736  22% 
Barbados  11,888,329  2,241,703  0 0 2,241,703  19% 
Belize  2,079,901  128,383  0 0 128,383  6% 
Bermuda  38,649,516  1,093,403  0 0 1,093,403  3% 
British Virgin Islands  937,849  168,517  25,185  0 193,072  21% 
Cayman Islands  2,101,891  52,928  0 0 52,928  3% 
Dominic a 230,742  58,542  0 0 58,542  25% 
Grenada  1,577,280  69,923  0 0 69,923  4% 
Guyana  666,959,151  1,527,009  55,188  0 1,582,197  0% 
Jamaica  204,888,339  8,140,633  0 0 8,140,633  4% 
Montserrat  59,461  16,419  0 0 16,419  28% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis  2,970,92 0 297,631  0 0 297,631  10% 
Saint Lucia  691,822  335,261  0 0 335,261  48% 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines  143,345  56,841  0 0 56,841  40% 
Trinidad and Tobago  189,493,467  7,308,921  0 0 7,308,921  4% 
Turks and Caicos Islands  147,672  9,380  0 0 9,380  6% 
Total  1,136,705,531  24,576,299  80,373  0 24,656,042  2% 
Source:  Statistics Canada.  WT/L/1013  
 
- 7 - 
 
  ANNEX IV  
Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada Under 
CARIBCAN Duty -Free Tariff Treatment (CCCT) in 2016  
(in Canadian Dollars)  
HS Tariff  Descrip tion Imports under 
CARIBCAN 
Treatment 
(CCCT)  
71081200  Other unwrought forms, non -monetary [of gold]  49,286,249  
22071010  Undenatured ethyl alcohol >= 80% vol for use in the manufacture of 
spirituous or alcoholic beverages  12,739,594  
22084010  Rum 8,789,52 3 
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, cherimoyas (Jamaica apples)… . 3,576,689  
21039020  Mixed condiments and mixed seasonings  2,361,419  
07143090  Yams [other than frozen]  1,825,952  
03061100  Rock lobster and other sea crawfish ( Palinurus spp ., Panulirus spp. , 
Jasus spp. ) 1,069,371  
22021000  Waters, including mineral wate rs and aerated waters, containing added 
sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured  1,023,263  
19059039  Other [bread]  1,013,083  
19053192  Sweet biscuits containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, in packages 
of a weight not exceeding 1.36 kg each, over a ccess commitment  940,240  
22029090  Other [nectars]  866,697  
21039090  Other [sauces]  816,523  
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  540,605  
09081100  Nutmeg, neither crushed nor ground  415,536  
73269090  Other [articles of iron or steel]  401,685  
07142000  Sweet potatoes  251,470  
19059049  Other biscuits [Containing less than 25% by weight of wheat]  251,417  
12119010  Herbal "tea" in bags for individual serv ings 242,268  
20089990  Other [pulps and fruit put up for retail sale]  239,647  
19021929  Other [pasta, containing flour and water only]  237,414  
09109130  Curry  230,854  
20059990  Other [Other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables]  202,625  
42031000  Articles of apparel, of leather or composite leather  188,668  
17049090  Other [sugar confectionary, not containing cocoa]  183,990  
04063010  Processed cheese, not grated or powdered, within access commitment  180,091  
Source:  Statistics Canada import data . 
 
 
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