WT/L/987  
 
14 July 2016  
(16-3780)  Page: 1/7  
General Council 
27-28 July 2016  Original: English/French  
 
 CANADIAN TARIFF TREATMENT FOR CO MMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES 
2016 REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ON THE 
TRADE-RELATED PROVISIONS OF CARIBCAN 
The following communication, dated 12 July 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Canada. 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION 
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 meeting in Nassau in October 1985.  
The objectives of CARIBCAN are to enhance Commonwealth Caribbean trade and export earnings, 
improve the trade and economic development pros pects of the region, promote new investment 
opportunities, and encourage enhanced economic integration and co-operation.  The main feature of CARIBCAN is the unilateral extension by Ca nada, beginning on 15 June 1986, of duty-free 
access to the Canadian market for most commodities originating in Commonwealth Caribbean 
countries.  
On 28 November 1986, a decision by the Contract ing 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 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. 
 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 
The Customs Tariff lists 18 countries or dependent territories which are eligible to receive the 
duty-free benefits accorded under CARIBCAN:  Anguilla, Antigua-Barbud a, 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 an d Caicos Islands.  No additions or deletions 
from this list have occurred since CARIBCAN was enacted on 15 June 1986.   
3  PRODUCT COVERAGE 
There have been no amendments to CARIBCAN product coverage since the changes made in 
February 1998.  
 WT/L/987 
 
- 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 
The rules of origin for the purposes of the Commonwealth Caribbean Countries Tariff (CCCT) 
treatment are set out in regulations enacted pursuant to Section 16 of the Customs Tariff.  To qualify for the duty-free tr eatment 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, 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 
Canada-CARIBCAN trade statistics are annexed in a series of tables to this report and include 2015 
trade data.  In general, these trade statistics indicate that: 
  In 2015, 97%of total Canadian imports from CARIBCAN beneficiaries entered Canada free of 
duty.  As shown in Annex III, $876 million of this trade entered under MFN free rates while 
$4 million entered duty-free under General Prefer ential Tariff (GPT).  $49 million of this 
trade entered under the preferential 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 $1.6 billion in 2015.  The 
value of Canadian imports from the region has risen from $891 million in 2005 to $953 million in 2015.  The value of Canadian exports to CARIBCAN countries has risen from 
$571 million in 2005 to $676 million in 2015. 
Statistical Annexes:  
 
Annex I:  Total Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2005 - 2015 
 Annex II:  Total Canadian exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2005 - 2015 
 
Annex III:  2015 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 2015 
 
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  WT/L/987  
 
- 3 - ANNEX I 
Total Canadian Imports from CARIBCAN Bene ficiaries 2005 – 2015              
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country 2005  2006 2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015 
Anguilla 145  153 149  211 308 320 271 272 606 360 226 
Antigua - 
Barbuda 558 407 564 5,468  446 422 414 1,741  625 448 466 
Bahamas 56,816  23,274 63,303  73,519  30,995  55,121  21,881  146,573  44,069  92,051  35,720 
Barbados 7,368  13,615 8,117  8,498  8,663  9,680  6,921  9,578  18,851  12,942  11,557 
Belize 9,651  9,558 10,959  10,842  7,247  6,177  7,516  3,221  2,579  1,777  3,786 
Bermuda 17,738  16,783 3,192  1,910  10,968  1,389  979 29,015  17,709  31,013  35,319 
British Virgin 
Islands 2,699  4,120 1,994  13,246  720 622 821 1,102  28,258  2,529  1,520 
Cayman 
Islands 441 280 314 193 645 304 778 415 210 215 662 
Dominica 775  253 398  337 390 145 289 264 1,153  356 728 
Grenada 944 957 701 877 509 601 1,718  2,268  1,904  2,018  2,211 
Guyana 147,206  142,093 161,534  225,084  300,318  290,736  394,657  453,997  486,488  335,752  271,554 
Jamaica 393,028  418,261 370,906  327,580  164,764  161,934  275,412  101,951  205,772  264,949  241,310 
Montserrat 104  542 222  139 69 327 291 197 36 333 233 
St. 
Christopher 
(Kitts) and 
Nevis 7,868  8,798 4,270  5,236  7,033  8,092  9,166  9,638  8,784  6,249  4,072 
St. Lucia 512  164 313  155 2,289  203 273 268 349 423 509 
St. Vincent 
and the 
Grenadines 125 297 568 136 219 162 259 170 173 126 110 
Trinidad & 
Tobago 237,073  307,597 413,473  341,400  314,955  459,179  388,961  246,424  188,761  557,843  342,388 
Turks & 
Caicos 
Islands 7,525  6,917 5,146  1,933  299 112 119 186 254 416 843 
Total: 890,576  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 
Source:  Statistics Canada. 
  
  WT/L/987  
 
- 4 - ANNEX II 
Total Canadian Exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2005-2015  
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country 2005 2006 2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015 
Anguilla 1,559 1,564 1,386  2,590  1,833  865 2,318  607 850 1,007  1,271 
Antigua - Barbuda 14,968 68,527 17,174  21,194  20,095  19,211  9,590  18,273  15,172  10,112  9,990 
Bahamas 59,949 51,275 91,210  226,436  146,232  150,620  127,275  486,780  189,761  242,015  68,832 
Barbados 55,729 59,411 55,216  45,392  55,448  36,675  44,248  58,853  147,317  187,559  66,607 
Belize 6,347 8,693 6,395  6,594  5,544  5,536  4,976  7,464  7,295  19,133  9,258 
Bermuda 66,405 68,131 59,035  61,823  56,630  37,647  73,760  22,122  33,658  29,914  36,408 
British Virgin Islands 2,786 3,672 2,057  8,694  3,271  22,175  48,168  1,619  2,536  28,628  12,399 
Cayman Islands 22,374 33,523 55,092  14,019  6,403  6,224  6,993  8,189  58,645  8,136  8,345 
Dominica 4,585 5,456 4,531  5,619  4,386  4,447  3,748  3,864  4,595  6,157  4,551 
Grenada 6,956 6,550 5,928  5,653  5,535  5,092  4,423  5,288  4,537  5,648  5,786 
Guyana 15,330 22,968 25,710  20,318  27,705  28,076  35,385  25,201  17,902  25,081  23,849 
Jamaica 144,312 142,636 190,138  187,298  117,954  125,076  106,081  129,416  114,177  111,919  104,329 
Montserrat 510 364 252  383 272 226 325 380 264 164 232 
St. Christopher 
(Kitts) and Nevis 5,380 7,101 8,753  7,930  6,242  6,706  5,678  6,524  7,355  9,116  6,756 
St. Lucia 7,020 11,494 15,083  12,309  10,040  35,745  8,476  9,183  10,247  11,202  9,925 
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines 6,978 9,830 9,767  7,688  11,583  10,788  6,742  6,538  8,760  13,045  9,530 
Trinidad & Tobago 141,525 178,797 210,182  262,673  251,109  289,026  332,950  319,383  333,293  307,597  293,762 
Turks & Caicos 
Islands 8,258 12,387 11,556  7,044  6,181  4,290  1,814  2,076  1,738  2,574  3,674 
Total: 570,971 692,379 769,465  903,657  736,463  788,425  822,950  1,111,760  958,102  1,019,007  675,504 
Source:  Statistics Canada. 
Notes:  Includes Canadian domestic exports only. 
 
 
  
  
  WT/L/987  
 
- 5 -  
ANNEX III (i) 
Duty Free 2015 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 226,265  27,569  0 0 27,569  12% 
Antigua and Barbuda 465,598  152,757  0 87,835  240,592  52% 
Bahamas 35,720,442  32,021,791  0 979,251  33,001,042  92% 
Barbados 11,556,777  915,535  0 8,495,787  9,411,322  81% 
Belize 3,785,774  2,581,833  365,289  734,314  3,681,418  97% 
Bermuda 35,318,582  33,849,230  0 4,117  33,853,347  96% 
British Virgin Islands 1,520,375  1,394,981  0 0 1,394,981  92% 
Cayman Islands 662,312  618,131  0 0 618,131  93% 
Dominica 727,496  492,204  0 0 492,204  68% 
Grenada 2,210,990  1,641,721  0 512,658  2,154,379  97% 
Guyana 271,554,194  262,055,058  3,768,429  4,056,029  269,897,516  99% 
Jamaica 241,310,184  213,792,527  0 19,945,192  233,737,719  97% 
Montserrat 233,245  209,734  0 0 209,734  90% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis 4,072,320  3,816,628  0 0 3,816,628  94% 
Saint Lucia 508,681  339,969  0 4,425  344,394  68% 
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 109,689  39,579  0 40,193  79,772  73% 
Trinidad and Tobago 342,388,373  321,079,899  0 14,158,890  335,238,789  98% 
Turks and Caicos Islands 842,951  775,876  0 0 775,876  92% 
Total 953,214,248 875,805,022  4,133,718  49,018,691  928,975,413  97% 
Source: Statistics Canada. 
  
  WT/L/987  
 
- 6 - ANNEX III (ii) 
Dutiable 2015 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 226,265  198,696  0 0 198,696  88% 
Antigua and Barbuda 465,598  225,006  0 0 225,006  48% 
Bahamas 35,720,442  2,719,400  0 0 2,719,400  8% 
Barbados 11,556,777  2,145,455  0 0 2,145,455  19% 
Belize 3,785,774  104,356  0 0 104,356  3% 
Bermuda 35,318,582  1,465,235  0 0 1,465,235  4% 
British Virgin Islands 1,520,375  125,394  0 0 125,394  8% 
Cayman Islands 662,312  44,181  0 0 44,181  7% 
Dominica 727,496  235,292  0 0 235,292  32% 
Grenada 2,210,990  56,611  0 0 56,611  3% 
Guyana 271,554,194  1,619,864  54,814  0 1,674,678  1% 
Jamaica 241,310,184  7,572,465  0 0 7,572,465  3% 
Montserrat 233,245  23,511  0 0 23,511  10% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis 4,072,320  255,692  0 0 255,692  6% 
Saint Lucia 508,681  164,287  0 0 164,287  32% 
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 109,689  29,917  0 0 29,917  27% 
Trinidad and Tobago 342,388,373  7,149,584  0 0 7,149,584  2% 
Turks and Caicos Islands 842,951  67,075  0 0 67,075  8% 
Total 953,214,248  24,202,021  54,814  0 24,256,835  3% 
Source: Statistics Canada. 
 WT/L/987 
 
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  ANNEX IV 
Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada Under 
CARIBCAN Duty-Free Tariff Treatment (CCCT) in 2015 (in Canadian Dollars) 
HS Tariff Description Imports under 
CARIBCAN 
Treatment 
(CCCT) 
22071010 Undenatured ethyl alcohol >= 80% vol for use in the 
manufacture of spirituous or alcoholic beverages 12,651,440  
29051100 Methanol (methyl alcohol) 11,134,573  
22084010 Rum 8,984,118  
21039020 Mixed condiments and mixed seasonings 2,416,165  
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)…. 1,851,195
 
03061100 Rock lobster and other sea crawfish ( Palinurus spp ., Panulirus 
spp., Jasus spp. ) 1,319,928  
07143090 Yams [other than frozen] 1,067,607  
22029090 Other [nectars] 887,879  
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 773,526
 
22021000 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing 
added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured 762,704  
21039090 Other [sauces] 745,663  
19059039 Other [bread] 734,801  
09081100 Nutmeg, neither crushed nor ground 474,841  
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 451,116  
73269090 Other [articles of iron or steel] 423,108  
19059049 Other biscuits [Containing less than 25% by weight of wheat] 380,454  
17049090 Other [sugar confectionary, not containing cocoa] 245,643  
04063010 Processed cheese, not grated or powdered, within access 
commitment 231,058  
20059990 Other [Other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables] 226,341  
42031000 Articles of apparel, of leather or composite leather 214,395  
19021929 Other [pasta, containing flour and water only] 207,163  
22042110 Wine, of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 13.7% 179,855  
83061090 Other [bells, gongs and the like] 141,426  
07133391 Red kidney beans 136,398  
22030000 Beer made from malt 132,189  
Source: Statistics Canada import data. 
 
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