WT/L/898  
 
11 November 2013  
(13-6238)  Page: 1/7  
General Council 
21 November 2013  Original: English/French  
 
CANADIAN TARIFF TREATMENT FOR 
COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES 
2013 REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ON THE 
TRADE-RELATED PROVISIONS OF CARIBCAN 
The following communication, dated 5 November 2013,  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 30 November 2011 the WTO extended the CARIBCAN waiver (WT/L/835).  The conditions associated with the CARIBCAN waiver remain 
unchanged. 
 This report is being made in accordance with paragraph 3 of the WTO waiver of 30 November 2011 
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/898 
 
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  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 24 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 2012 
trade data.  In general, these trade statistics indicate that: 
 - In 2012, 94 per cent of total Canadian imports from CARIBCAN beneficiaries entered Canada 
free of duty.  As shown in Annex III, $863.3 million of this trade entered under MFN free 
rates while $8.7 million entered duty-free under General Preferential Tariff (GPT).  $98.8 million of this trade entered under the preferential CARIBCAN tariff (CCCT).  Annex IV 
shows the top twenty-five commodity imports be nefiting from the CARIBCAN preference.   
 - Total Canada-CARIBCAN trade (exports plus imports) was CDN $2.1 billion in 2012.  The 
value of Canadian imports from the region has risen from $716 million in 2002 to more than 
$1 billion in 2012.  The value of Canadian exports to CARIBCAN countries has risen from 
$552 million in 2002 to $1.1billion in 2012. 
 
Statistical Annexes:  
 Annex I:  Total Imports form CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2002 - 2012 
 
Annex II:  Total Canadian exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2002 - 2012  Annex III:  2012 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 2012 
 
 
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  WT/L/898  
 
- 3 - Annex I 
 
Total Canadian Imports from CA RIBCAN Beneficiaries 2002 – 2012  
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country 2002  2003 2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012 
Anguilla 13  8 27  145 153 149 211 308 320 271 272 
Antigua - 
Barbuda 954 748 579  558 407 564 5,468  446 422 414 1,741 
Bahamas 16,941  48,149 55,652  56,816  23,274  63,303  73,519  30,995  55,121  21,881  146,573 
Barbados 7,543  6,282 8,508  7,368  13,615  8,117  8,498  8,663  9,680  6,921  9,578 
Belize 6,381  4,501 8,325  9,651  9,558  10,959  10,842  7,247  6,177  7,516  3,221 
Bermuda 3,803  1,655 12,511  17,738  16,783  3,192  1,910  10,968  1,389  979 29,015 
British Virgin 
Islands 501 1,146 1,785  2,699  4,120  1,994  13,246  720 622 821 1,102 
Cayman 
Islands 3,818  2,242 1,108  441 280 314 193 645 304 778 415 
Dominica 944  358 313  775 253 398 337 390 145 289 264 
Grenada 1,476  1,082 1,259  944 957 701 877 509 601 1,718  2,268 
Guyana 225,368  201,099 197,704  147,206  142,093  161,534  225,084  300,318  290,736  394,657  453,997 
Jamaica 270,927  264,871 346,608  393,028  418,261  370,906  327,580  164,764  161,934  275,412  101,951 
Montserrat 267  453 238  104 542 222 139 69 327 291 197 
St. 
Christopher 
(Kitts) and 
Nevis 7,458  8,722 8,185  7,868  8,798  4,270  5,236  7,033  8,092  9,166  9,638 
St. Lucia 411  266 366  512 164 313 155 2,289  203 273 268 
St. Vincent 
and the 
Grenadines 619 124 123  125 297 568 136 219 162 259 170 
Trinidad & 
Tobago 166,704  232,921 156,281  237,073  307,597  413,473  341,400  314,955  459,179  388,961  246,424 
Turks & 
Caicos 
Islands 2,347  7,980 6,871  7,525  6,917  5,146  1,933  299 112 119 186 
Total: 716,475  782,607 806,443  890,576  954,069  1,046,123  1,016,764  850,837  995,526  1,110,726  1,007,280 
Source:  Statistics Canada. 
 
  
  WT/L/898  
 
- 4 - Annex II  
 
Total Canadian Exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 2002-2012 
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country 2002  2003 2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012 
Anguilla 1,301  802 1,215  1,559  1,564  1,386  2,590  1,833  865 2,318  607 
Antigua - Barbuda 7,970  17,273 15,534  14,968  68,527  17,174  21,194  20,095  19,211  9,590  18,273 
Bahamas 33,245  28,883 30,392  59,949  51,275  91,210  226,436  146,232  150,620  127,275  486,780 
Barbados 33,629  41,979 44,769  55,729  59,411  55,216  45,392  55,448  36,675  44,248  58,853 
Belize 5,079  5,271 5,425  6,347  8,693  6,395  6,594  5,544  5,536  4,976  7,464 
Bermuda 107,599  42,945 59,301  66,405  68,131  59,035  61,823  56,630  37,647  73,760  22,122 
British Virgin 
Islands 2,167  2,129 2,637  2,786  3,672  2,057  8,694  3,271  22,175  48,168  1,619 
Cayman Islands 6,807  7,671 10,738  22,374  33,523  55,092  14,019  6,403  6,224  6,993  8,189 
Dominica 2,614  7,668 4,967  4,585  5,456  4,531  5,619  4,386  4,447  3,748  3,864 
Grenada 4,450  5,868 6,056  6,956  6,550  5,928  5,653  5,535  5,092  4,423  5,288 
Guyana 10,373  9,536 10,603  15,330  22,968  25,710  20,318  27,705  28,076  35,385  25,201 
Jamaica 158,212  124,650 163,755  144,312  142,636  190,138  187,298  117,954  125,076  106,081  129,416 
Montserrat 291  300 434  510 364 252 383 272 226 325 380 
St. Christopher 
(Kitts) and Nevis 27,036  12,059 3,982  5,380  7,101  8,753  7,930  6,242  6,706  5,678  6,524 
St. Lucia 7,804  7,423 8,059  7,020  11,494  15,083  12,309  10,040  35,745  8,476  9,183 
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines 3,743  5,874 5,130  6,978  9,830  9,767  7,688  11,583  10,788  6,742  6,538 
Trinidad & Tobago 136,808  125,507 121,475  141,525  178,797  210,182  262,673  251,109  289,026  332,950  319,383 
Turks & Caicos 
Islands 2,933  10,372 7,182  8,258  12,387  11,556  7,044  6,181  4,290  1,814  2,076 
Total: 552,061  456,210 501,654  570,971  692,379  769,465  903,657  736,463  788,425  822,950  1,111,760 
Source:  Statistics Canada. 
Notes:  Includes Canadian domestic exports only.           
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- 5 - Annex III (i) 
Duty Free 2012 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 271,911  6,710  0 0  6,710  2% 
Antigua and Barbuda 1,741,201  1,413,608  0 1,903  1,415,511  81% 
Bahamas 146,572,983  142,659,551  0 1,243,035  143,902,586  98% 
Barbados 9,577,913  978,570  3,152 6,425,004  7,406,726  77% 
Belize 3,220,751  2,458,747  142,415 569,299  3,170,461  98% 
Bermuda 29,015,049  27,896,963  0 91,506  27,988,469  96% 
Br. Virgin Is. 1,102,356  887,194  0 32,334  919,528  83% 
Cayman Islands 415,273  390,546  0 0  390,546  94% 
Dominica 263,990  234,137  0 0  234,137  89% 
Grenada 2,268,324  738,969  1,477,754   2,216,723  98% 
Guyana 453,997,383  448,145,698  2,535,868 2,097,349  452,778,915  100% 
Jamaica 101,950,957  73,696,009  496,472 20,326,883  94,521,364  93% 
Montserrat 197,045  191,289  0 0  191,289  97% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis 9,637,641  9,512,143  0 15,249  9,527,392  99% 
Saint Lucia 268,252  142,238  0   142,238  53% 
Saint Vincent/Gren. 169,508  66,414  0 70,629  137,043  81% 
Trinidad and Tobago 246,424,173  126,688,215  4,030,221 67,891,272  198,609,708  81% 
Turks/Caicos Is. 185,800  166,550  0 0  166,550  90% 
Total 1,007,280,510  836,273,551  8,685,882 98,764,463  943,725,896  94% 
Source: Statistics Canada. 
    
  WT/L/898  
 
- 6 - Annex III (ii) 
Dutiable 2012 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 271,911  265,201  0 0  265,201  98% 
Antigua and Barbuda 1,741,201  325,690  0 0  325,690  19% 
Bahamas 146,572,983  2,668,616  1,781 0  2,670,397  2% 
Barbados 9,577,913  2,132,714  38,473 0  2,171,187  23% 
Belize 3,220,751  48,600  1,690 0  50,290  2% 
Bermuda 29,015,049  1,026,580  0 0  1,026,580  4% 
Br. Virgin Is. 1,102,356  59,012  123,816 0  182,828  17% 
Cayman Islands 415,273  24,727  0 0  24,727  6% 
Dominica 263,990  29,853  0 0  29,853  11% 
Grenada 2,268,324  51,326  275 0  51,601  2% 
Guyana 453,997,383  1,170,751  47,717 0  1,218,468  0% 
Jamaica 101,950,957  7,325,116  104,477 0  7,429,593  7% 
Montserrat 197,045  5,756  0 0  5,756  3% 
St. Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis 9,637,641  110,249  0 0  110,249  1% 
Saint Lucia 268,252  125,959  55 0  126,014  47% 
Saint Vincent/Gren. 169,508  32,465  0 0  32,465  19% 
Trinidad and Tobago 246,424,173  47,757,694  56,771 0  47,814,465  19% 
Turks/Caicos Is. 185,800  19,250  0 0  19,250  10% 
Total 1,007,280,510  63,179,559  375,055 0  63,554,614  6% 
Source: Statistics Canada. 
 
 
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Annex IV 
 Top 25 Merchandise Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada Under 
CARIBCAN Duty-Free Tariff Treatment (CCCT) in 2012 
(in Canadian Dollars) 
HS Tariff Description Imports under 
CARIBCAN 
Treatment 
(CCCT) 
29051100 Methanol (methyl alcohol) 63,356,900  
22084010 Rum 11,251,292  
22071010 Undenatured ethyl alcohol >= 80% vol for use in the 
manufacture of spirituous or alcoholic beverages 10,535,675  
03061100 Rock lobster and other sea crawfish ( Palinurus spp ., Panulirus 
spp., Jasus spp. ) 1,588,373  
21039020 Mixed condiments and mixed seasonings 1,487,530  
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)…. 1,239,657
 
22029090 Other [nectars] 1,171,652  
07143090 Yams [other than frozen] 1,121,647  
19059049 Other biscuits [Containing less than 25% by weight of wheat] 771,441  
22021000 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, 
containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured 695,009
 
21039090 Other [sauces] 569,084  
19059039 Other [bread] 435,800  
19053199 Other [sweet biscuits] 327,545  
20059990 Other [Other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables] 290,877  
04063010 Processed cheese, not grated or powdered, within access 
commitment 254,266  
19059042 Other biscuits, containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, 
within access commitment 242,148  
85369091 Other: Junction boxes; Receptacle boxes of metal 227,258  
22089030 Angostura bitters 225,170  
85444990 Other [electric conductors, for a voltage not exceeding 
1,000 V, not fitted with connectors] 201,486  
19053129 Other sweet biscuits, valued at 44 ¢/kg or more, said value to 
be based on the net weight and to include the value of the usual retail package 177,152
 
07142000 Sweet potatoes 170,853  
22087000 Liqueurs and cordials 138,416  
17049090 Other [sugar confectionary, not containing cocoa] 138,315  
22042110 Wine, of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 13.7% 137,193  
20079990 Other [purées, jams, jellies] 127,266  
Source: Statistics Canada import data. 
 
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