Fact Sheet

Updated October 2005

The CBSA Administers Trade Policy Laws

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is responsible for administering Canada's trade policy laws. In delivering its programs, the CBSA must achieve a balance between facilitating and promoting international trade and protecting Canadian businesses from unfairly traded goods. The CBSA's goal is to help increase Canada's competitiveness and prosperity through increased international trade.

Principles

The CBSA promotes client-focussed and positive business relationships with clients. Within this framework, it is guided by the following principles:

• Clients must be provided the information necessary to enable them to comply.
• Verification must be supported with a fair and flexible sanctions regime.
• Clients are entitled to fair, equitable treatment and consistent decisions.

Legislative responsibilities

The CBSA is responsible for a broad range of legislation, regulations, and related programs that affect both import and export trade. The Customs Act, the Customs Tariff Act, the Excise Act, and the Excise Tax Act are the primary acts it administers. It is responsible for enforcing unfair trade remedies under the Special Measures Import Act (SIMA), and it plays an important role in meeting Canada's international commitments under trade agreements such as NAFTA, CIFTA, and CCFTA. It also administers a number of acts and regulations on behalf of other government departments and agencies.

Program responsibilities

The CBSA also administers a variety of national trade programs. It is responsible for the accuracy and integrity of import trade data as well as for administering certain programs designed to protect Canadian industry from unfair trade practices. The CBSA's programs include: Tariff Classification, Valuation, Tariff Treatment - Rules of Origin, the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), Remissions, Duties Relief Program, Temporary Entry, and Canadian Goods Abroad.

The CBSA's regional offices provide Canadian businesses with a wide range of products and services tailored to their needs. They also perform verifications to ensure trade compliance and a level playing field for all. These products and services include:

• client visits and consultations;
• forms, pamphlets, and publications;
• seminars and educational programs;
• rulings and technical advice on classification, values, origin, and SIMA;
• assistance and advice about duty deferral programs, remissions, temporary entry, and Canadian goods abroad programs; and
• help correcting trade data, including the processing of refunds and drawbacks;
• audits to confirm origin requirements and entitlement to free trade preferences;
• comprehensive verifications to confirm compliance with trade requirements;
• monetary assessments where necessary to correct instances of non-compliance; and
• independent decisions on appeals filed to contest customs decisions.

For media information