Dairy – World Trade Organization (WTO) Cheese Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) (Items 141 to 157 on the Import Control List)

This Notice replaces Notice to Importers No. 890 dated September 30, 2016, and will remain in effect until further notice. 

This Notice to Importers is provided pursuant to the authority of the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA) and its corresponding regulations.

In Brief

Imports of cheese into Canada are subject to import controls under Canada’s EIPA. Accordingly, an import permit issued by Global affairs Canada is required for shipment of cheese to enter Canada. Import permits for shipments of cheese destined to the Canadian market are issued to traditional allocation holders under Canada’s World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff rate quota (TRQ) for all types of cheese, which is administered by Global Affairs Canada.

The access quantity for the WTO cheese TRQ is 20,411,866 is split into two reserves, one for cheese originating from the European Union (EU) and one for non-EU origin cheeses. Pursuant to Canada’s commitment under the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada committed to reallocate 800,000 kilograms from the non-EU reserve to the EU reserve. Consequently, 14,271,831 kilograms is reserved for EU-origin cheeses and 6,140,035 kilograms is reserved for non-EU origin cheeses. 

This notice is available in its entirety on the Global Affairs Canada website.