Canada imposes duties on upholstery from China and Vietnam

OTTOWA – Upholstered furniture from China and Vietnam sold in Canada now is subject to country-wide duties of 295.5% and 101.5%, respectively, after a preliminary determination of dumping by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.

CITT found “reasonable indication” that dumping and subsidizing of upholstered seating made in China and Vietnam has or is threating to damage Canada’s domestic furniture manufacturing industry. The CITT will continue its inquiry and expects to issue its ultimate finding by Sep. 2.

A letter from the Canada Border Services Agency notified importers that provisional duties will be collected on subject merchandise as of Wednesday, May 5.

Twenty-eight Chinese manufacturers were assigned separate rates ranging from 20.65% to 226.45%, while seven manufacturers in Vietnam received separate duty rates ranging from 17.44% to 89.77%. A list of those companies can be found here.

Under Canada’s Special Import Measures Act, importers are required to declare their company’s liability, if any, for provisional duties and taxes on any subject goods imported into Canada, and it is their responsibility to inform their customs broker if they are importing goods subject to provisional duties and to ensure proper declaration of subject goods and proper payment of duties. Importers can go here for a self-assessment.

A ‘Statement of Reasons’ summarizing the information on which these decisions were based as well as general terms of future activities related to the investigations, will be issued within 15 days, when it will be available here on CBSA’s website.

CBSA launched the investigation in December based upon a complaint filed by Palliser Furniture and supported by fellow Canandian manufacturers Elran Furniture Ltd., Jaymar Furniture Corp., EQ3 Ltd. and Fornirama Inc. The move looks to limit the penetration of motion upholstery and leather stationary furniture from China and Vietnam into Canada. According to CBSA, the Canadian market for such merchandise has been estimated at $675 million annually.

- Furniture Today -