The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 23

The International News Weekly CANADA
December 01, 2017 | Toronto
05
U.S. governors tell Canada to
relax duties on online purchases
Agencies
WASHINGTON: Canada is being
pressed for freer trade in online
goods by a number of American
states, with eight state governors
writing a letter seeking an expansion
of Canada's low limits for online
duty-free purchases.
Their letter to Foreign Affairs
Minister Chrystia Freeland and
U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer
says the NAFTA talks are an opportunity
to review the $20 limit
for what Canadians can buy online
without paying duties on foreign
goods. Canada has one of the strictest
duty-free limits in the world for
online goods — a mere fraction of
the $800 Americans can spend on
sites like Amazon and eBay without
paying an import fee.
"Canada's ... threshold remains
among the lowest in the industrialized
world," says the Nov. 21 letter,
signed by the governors of Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Maine,
Maryland, Montana, Oregon, Utah
and Virginia.
"Canada's low threshold for the
collection of duty and tax creates
unnecessary price increases for
Canadian consumers and hinders
North American manufacturers'
supply chains on both sides of our
shared border... "A modernization
of the Canadian de minimis level
would be beneficial to both countries."
Changing Canada's limit is
a high priority for the U.S. side in
NAFTA talks.
An American source familiar
with the talks tells The Canadian
Press that's one reason the U.S.
mentions the issue and sets a specific
$800 target in its published list
of negotiating objectives.
The source says that while other
U.S. demands are vaguely worded
and devoid of hard numbers to
leave negotiating room, the demand
to change the limit — known as "de
minimis" — is firm and unequivocal.
In Canada, the debate pits importers
versus bricks-and-mortar
shops. Traditional retailers warn
that domestic stores would be hit
hard by a change in policy, as Canadian
purchases would flow to retailers
based outside the country.
The Retail Council of Canada
says it's unfair to compare the dutyfree
levels between the countries,
since the domestic tax burden is
different on U.S. retailers. "There
is no comparison between Canada
and the U.S.," the council says on
its website. "First, the United States
does not have a federal sales tax, so
there is no tax advantage created
for inbound shipments. The U.S.
also does not collect state and local
sales taxes at the border or for interstate
shipments."
The U.S. also dominates the online
retail space, the council notes:
only 22 per cent of U.S. customers
report having made a purchase
from a foreign seller, compared
with 67 per cent of Canadians.
Sonia Sidhu
welcomes
immigration pact
The Canadian Parvasi
BRAMPTON: Welcoming the agreement on
immigration between Canada and Ontario last
week, Brampton South MP Sonia Sidhu says the
Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA)
creates a new framework to welcome and settle
immigrants, boost the economy, and address
shared humanitarian responsibilities.
The governments of Canada and Ontario are
working together to ensure the economic, social
and cultural benefits of immigration are maximized
in the province, Sidhu said in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Canada and Ontario
also announced a joint effort to help internationally
trained newcomers meet provincial
requirements to work in their profession.
She said spending of $91 million on bridge
training programs over the next three years - $70
million from Ontario and up to $21 million from
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada -
will help newcomers meet requirements to work
in their occupation.
The agreement was signed at Queen’s Park
by Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees
and Citizenship, andLaura Albanese, Ontario
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
Canada would welcome one million new permanent
residents by 2020, with Ontario as their
top destination .