WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/664 
4 December 2006 
 (06-5786) 
General Council 
14-15 December 2006 Original:   English 
 
 
 
CANADA - TARIFF TREATMENT FOR COMMONWEALTH 
CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES 
 
2006 Report of the Government of Ca nada on the Trade-Related Provisions  
of CARIBCAN  
   The following communication, dated 27 November 2006, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of Canada. 
_______________ 
 
Introduction 
 
 CARIBCAN is an economic and trade development assistance program for the 
Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories esta blished as a result of a commitment by Canada 
at the Commonwealth Heads of Governme nt 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 prospects 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  Canada, beginning on 15 June 1986, of duty-free 
access to the Canadian market for most comm odities originating in Commonwealth Caribbean 
countries.   On 28 November 1986, a decision by the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) waived un til 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 Comm onwealth 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. 
  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.  Country Coverage 
 
 The Customs Tariff  lists 18 countries or dependent territori es which are eligible to receive the 
duty-free benefits accorded under CARIBCAN:   Anguilla, Antigua-Barbuda, The Bahamas, 
Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Is lands, 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 addi tions or deletions from 
this list have occurred since CARIBCAN was enacted on 15 June 1986.  WT/L/664 
Page 2  
 
   
Product Coverage 
 
 There have been no amendments to CARIBCAN product coverage since the changes made in 
February 1998.  
 
 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. 
 
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 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 cumulated 
from various CARIBCAN bene ficiary countries or Canada.  Th e 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 Certific ate 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.  Trade under CARIBCAN  
 Canada-CARIBCAN trade statistics are annexed in a series of tabl es to this report and include 
2005 trade data.  In general, these trade statistics indicate that:   - In 2005, Can$869.4 million or 98 per cent of total Canadian imports from 
CARIBCAN beneficiaries entered Canada free of duty.  As shown in Annex III, 
Can$746.7 million of this trade entered under MFN free rates while Can$5.7 million 
entered duty-free under General Preferentia l Tariff (GPT).  Can$116.9 million of this 
trade entered under the preferential CARIBCAN tariff (CCCT).  Annex IV shows the top 25 commodity imports benefiting from the CARIBCAN preference.   
 
 - Total Canada-CARIBCAN trade (exports  plus imports) has grown from Can$776.5 
million in 1995 to Can$1.5 billio n in 2005.  The value of Canadian imports from the 
region has risen from Can$448 million in 199 5 to Can$890.6 million in 2005.  The 
value of Canadian exports to CARIBCAN countries has risen from Can$329 million in 1995 to Can$571 million in 2005. 
  WT/L/664 
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  Statistical Annexes: 
 
Annex I:  Total Imports form CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1995 - 2005  Annex II:  Total Canadian exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1995 - 2005 
 
Annex III:  2005 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 (CCCT) in 2005 
  
  WT/L/664 
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Total Canadian Imports from CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1995 – 2005 Annex I 
 
(thousands of Canadian dollars)          
Country 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
Anguilla - 11 41 7 8 9 10 13 8 27 145 
Antigua -  Barbuda 389 1,857 1,256 2,698 402 10,380 340 954 748 579 558 
Bahamas 16,715 23,432 8,056 22,002 25,959 14 ,003 13,785 16,941 48 ,149 55,652 56,816 
Barbados 16,990 15,703 13,736 11,722 10,652 7,375 9,118 7,543 6,282 8,508 7,368 
Belize 11,688 7,953 12,737 8,263 14,027 9,868 3,739 6,381 4,501 8,325 9,651 
Bermuda 4,173 2,317 3,751 7,602 19,689 17,614 2,369 3,803 1,655 12,511 17,738 
British Virgin Islands 91 1,299 199 615 614 1,376 1,324 501 1,146 1,785 2,699 
Cayman Islands 638 1,968 624 1,070 654 522 27,571 3,818 2,242 1,108 441 
Dominica 2,381 1,180 1,390 1,910 1,642 1,698 775 944 358 313 775 
Grenada 639 559 1,112 1,067 1,602 1,523 1,037 1,476 1,082 1,259 944 
Guyana 171,208 204,033 203,375 203,107 192,020 197,800 209,474 225,368 201,099 197,704 147,206 
Jamaica 199,952 239,135 257,507 256,384 201,074 197,727 324,783 270,927 264,871 346,608 393,028 
Montserrat 18 203 341 28 248 94 113 267 453 238 104 
St. Lucia 1,222 1,602 1,287 1,595 580 1,413 237 411 266 366 512 
St. Christopher (Kitts) 
and Nevis 2,937 2,958 4,426 4,494 5,120 4,399 6,121 7,458 8,722 8,185 7,868 
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines 183 138 137 200 152 404 310 619 124 123 125 
Trinidad & Tobago 18,469 46,599 26,215 34,157 73,688 72,327 195,141 166,704 232,921 156,281 237,073 
Turks & Caicos Islands 17 93 338 686 1,823 1,647 1,007 2,347 7,980 6,871 7,525 
Total: 447,890 551,046 536,630 557,608 549,954 540,178 797,254 716,475 782,607 806,443 890,576 
            
Source : Statistics Canada.           
Notes :  A dash (-) indicates that an amount is nil or negligible.          
  
   WT/L/664
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Total Canadian Exports to CARIBCAN Beneficiaries 1995-2005                                                                                                                                Annex II 
 
(thousands of Canadian dollars)  
Country 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
Anguilla 548 588 881 1,007 673 651 2,802 1,301 802 1,215 1,559 
Antigua - Barbuda 6,160 28,133 9,384 8,492 11,402 10,727 10,434 7,970 17,273 15,534 14,968 
Bahamas 15,231 19,292 21,610 24,513 26,301 26,018 27,706 33,245 28,883 30,392 59,949 
Barbados 31,554 35,872 37,193 36,396 41,087 33,783 29,104 33,629 41,979 44,769 55,729 
Belize 4,232 2,586 9,847 3,760 3,332 2,598 3,505 5,079 5,271 5,425 6,347 
Bermuda 34,302 33,453 39,177 40,165 42,973 34,540 34,715 107,599 42,945 59,301 66,405 
British Virgin Islands 1,381 898 3,417 2,628 28,743 60,187 2,240 2,167 2,129 2,637 2,786 
Cayman Islands 11,490 7,281 1,369 12,266 8,127 8,286 63,858 6,807 7,671 10,738 22,374 
Dominica 1,891 2,238 1,840 3,236 5,560 4,436 2,671 2,614 7,668 4,967 4,585 
Grenada 3,789 4,649 3,321 4,901 4,839 4,023 3,142 4,450 5,868 6,056 6,956 
Guyana 8,144 11,171 10,671 9,968 14,655 8,073 8,068 10,373 9,536 10,603 15,330 
Jamaica 96,645 90,784 86,937 98,032 96,699 99,815 121,933 158,212 124,650 163,755 144,312 
Montserrat 128 185 149 81 83 289 214 291 300 434 510 
St. Lucia 12,521 5,426 8,729 11,493 12,524 9,683 7,375 7,804 7,423 8,059 7,020 
St. Christopher (Kitts) 
and Nevis 2,498 2,560 2,011 5,675 10,646 9,633 16,147 27,036 12,059 3,982 5,380 
St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines 2,815 3,116 4,063 3,676 4,633 4,906 3,941 
3,743 5,874 5,130 6,978 
Trinidad & Tobago 94,658 83,913 102,544 129,703 161,936 110,822 156,222 136,808 125,507 121,475 141,525 
Turks & Caicos Islands 654 514 537 1,379 2,357 2,341 2,366 2,933 10,372 7,182 8,258 
Total: 328,641 332,667 343,680 397,371 476,570 430,811 496,443 552,061 456,210 501,654 570,971 
            
Source : Statistics Canada.           
Notes :  A dash (-) indicates that an amount is nil or negligible.  Includes Canadian domestic exports only.     
 WT/L/664 
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  Annex III(i)  
 
       
Duty Free  2005 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 144,775 115,383 - - 115,383 80 
Antigua and 
Barbuda 557,918 477,403 - 
6,297 483,700 87 
Bahamas 56,816,109 52,361,654 - 3,653,708 56,015,362 99 
Barbados 7,367,727 2,163,519 3,266,928 1,729,417 7,159,864 97 
Belize 9,651,248 8,860,357 15,723 84,875 8,960,955 93 
Bermuda 17,738,257 17,352,460   5,590 17,358,050 98 
Br. Virgin Is. 2,698,459 2,332,037 82,868 - 2,414,905 89 
Cayman Islands 441,259 382,836 - - 382,836 87 
Dominica 774,520 522,691 2,270 27,234 552,195 71 
Grenada 943,959 401,225 267,592 170,382 839,199 89 
Guyana 147,206,217 141,360,391 1,632,475 3,126,581 146,119,449 99 
Jamaica 393,028,412 370,301,535 207,874 13,707,681 384,217,113 98 
Montserrat 103,902 66,862 - - 66,862 64 
St. Christopher 
(Kitts) and Nevis 7,868,091 1,799,752 1,803 5,642 1,807,197 23 
Saint Lucia 512,059 360,859 1,786 73,229 435,874 85 
Saint Vincent/Gren. 124,853 124,492 - - 124,492 100 
Trinidad and Tobago 237,073,012 140,843,361 266,989 94,111,701 235,222,051 99 
Turks/Caicos Is. 7,525,349 6,918,333 - 231,555 7,149,888 95 
Total 890,576,126 746,745,150 5,746,308 116,933,892 869,425,375 98 
         
Source : Statistic Canada.      
Notes :  A dash (-) indicates that an amount is nil or negligible.      
  WT/L/664 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Annex III(ii)  
       
Dutiable  2005 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 144,775 29,392 - - 29,392 20 
Antigua and Barbuda 557,918 74,218 - - 74,218 13 
Bahamas 56,816,109 800,747 - - 800,747 1 
Barbados 7,367,727 205,866 - 1,997 207,863 3 
Belize 9,651,248 690,293 - - 690,293 7 
Bermuda 17,738,257 380,207 - - 380,207 2 
Br. Virgin Is. 2,698,459 259,874 23,680 - 283,554 11 
Cayman Islands 441,259 58,423 - - 58,423 13 
Dominica 774,520 222,325 - - 222,325 29 
Grenada 943,959 104,760 - - 104,760 11 
Guyana 147,206,217 1,009,417 71,604 5,747 1,086,768 1 
Jamaica 393,028,412 8,724,705 64,797 21,797 8,811,299 2 
Montserrat 103,902 37,040 - - 37,040 36 
St. Christopher (Kitts) 
and Nevis 7,868,091 6,060,894  
-  
- 6,060,894 77 
Saint Lucia 512,059 76,185 - - 76,185 15 
Saint Vincent/Gren. 124,853 361 - - 361 0 
Trinidad and Tobago 237,073,012 1,719,149 65,775 66,037 1,850,961 1 
Turks/Caicos Is. 7,525,349 375,461 - - 375,461 5 
Total 890,576,126 20,829,317 225,856 95,578 21,150,751 2 
       
Source : Statistic Canada.      
Notes :  A dash (-) indicates that an amount is nil or negligible.      
 WT/L/664 
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  Annex IV  
   
Top 25 Merchandise Imports from  CARIBCAN Beneficiaries which entered Canada Under CARIBCAN 
Duty-Free Tariff Treatment in 2005 
(in Canadian Dollars) 
HS 
Tariff Description Imports under 
CARIBCAN 
Treatment 
(CCCT) 
29051100 Methanol (methyl alcohol) 77,027,793 
72031000 Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore 14,794,586 
22084010 Rum 9,962,298 
03061100 Rock lobster and other sea crawfish ( Palinurus spp ., Panulirus spp. , Jasus 
spp.) 3,885,263 
22071010 Undenatured, ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% vol or 
higher, for use as a spirituous or alcoholic beverage or for use in the 
manufacture of spirituous or alcoholic beverages 2,365,913 
22021000 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added sugar 
or other sweetening matter or flavoured 766,983 
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)…. 743,331 
07149090 Other [Arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes and similar roots and tubers 
with high starch or inulin content, fresh, chilled or dried, whether or not 
sliced or in the form of pellets; sago pith] 712,331 
21039020 Mixed condiments and mixed seasonings 695,522 
19059049 Other biscuits [Containing less than 25% by weight of wheat] 465,702 
85369091 Other:  Junction boxes;  Receptacle boxes of metal 445,951 
20059090 Other [Other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables] 373,854 
21039090 Other [Sauces and preparations] 373,641 
19053192 Other:  Wafers and frozen waffles containing 25% or more by weight of 
wheat, in packages of a weight not ex ceeding 454 g each, and sweet biscuits 
containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, in packages of a weight not 
exceeding 1.36 kg each, over access.... 345,363 
09109990 Other spices 279,274 
22087000 Liqueurs and cordials 226,939 
19053191 Sweet biscuits: containing 25% or more by weight of wheat, within access 
commitment 186,887 
08129010 Akalas, akees, anchovy pears, appl e-pears, avocados, bananas, bread fruit, 
carambolas, chayotes, cherim oyas (Jamaica apples)…. 185,506 
73269090 Other [Other articles of iron or steel] 179,550 
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 175,062 
22029090 Other [non-alcoholic beverages, not including fruit or vegetable juices of 
heading 20.09] 168,469 
17049090 Other [Sugar confectionery (including white chocolate), not containing 
cocoa, not including chewing gum, whether or not sugar-coated] 143,316 
20079990 Other [nut puréee and nut pastes; berry purée, other fru it purée other jams, 
jellies…] 127,661 
04063010 Within access commitm ent [Process cheese, not grated or powdered] 127,630 
07142000 Sweet potatoes 127,094 
      
Source : Statistics Canada import data.  
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