A 25-year-old anti-dumping duty on imports of certain packages and types of U.S. potatoes into the British Columbia market will again be reviewed this summer, this time probing potato values during the 2007-08 crop year.
The Canada Border Services Agency said Monday it has launched its review of what it called the “normal values” of specified potatoes and count sizes.
The review, which CBSA describes as a “re-investigation,” applies to whole potatoes and white and russet potatoes imported in 50-lb. cartons in the 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80-count sizes, coming from the U.S.
Read Also
Pulse Weekly: No upside for peas until after New Year
Prices for green and yellow peas have dropped back across the Prairies over the last week. One of the major downward drivers was the Statistics Canada production report released earlier this month, said Levon Sargsyan of Johnston’s Grain in Calgary.
It excludes imports during the period from May 1 to July 31, inclusive, of each calendar year, originating in or exported from the U.S., for use or consumption in B.C. The duty also does not apply on seed potatoes, red potatoes, yellow potatoes or exotic potato varieties, regardless of packaging.
Data collected in the review will be used to set the “normal values” of the potatoes and packaging in question on and after Sept. 25, or after the review concludes, whichever comes first, CBSA said.
As is usually the case in such dumping reviews, the CBSA says it will ask “selected parties” for data from a period in which such required information is “available, complete and fairly represents an average crop year,” which in this case will be 2007-08.
The agency cautioned potato-importing companies that any new normal values, when issued, could end up higher than those now in effect and that this could result in “additional assessments of anti-dumping duty.”
The duty stems from CBSA’s ongoing enforcement of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s findings of June 4, 1984 and April 18, 1986 on the affected spuds. The duties in question were continued in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005.
