Annual Report March 31, 2016 - Chapter I

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) is recognized domestically and globally as a centre of excellence in the fair and timely adjudication of trade law matters. The Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body which provides Canadian and international businesses with access to fair, transparent and timely trade remedy and federal government procurement inquiries, and customs and excise tax appeals. At the request of the Government, the Tribunal provides advice in tariff, trade, commercial and economic matters.

The Tribunal began operations on December 31, 1988, as the result of a merger of the Tariff Board, the Canadian Import Tribunal and the Textile and Clothing Board. However, its history goes back to the time of Confederation and the Board of Customs, whose appellate mandate was transferred to the Tariff Board in the 1950s.

The Canadian Import Tribunal was originally established in 1969 as the Anti-dumping Tribunal. Its name change reflected a broader mandate to conduct injury inquiries in both anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), as well as in safeguard cases. The Tribunal’s third predecessor, the Textile and Clothing Board, was formed in the early 1970s and inquired into safeguard complaints by the Canadian textile and apparel industries. Lastly, on January 1, 1994, the Tribunal absorbed the Procurement Review Board, extending the Tribunal’s mandate to include inquiries into whether federal procurement processes have been carried out in accordance with Canada’s domestic and international trade obligations.

As of November 1, 2014, the Tribunal’s Chairperson and members rely upon the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) for corporate, registry, research and legal services.

Trade Remedies

The Tribunal plays a significant role within Canada’s trade remedy system. Under SIMA, the Tribunal determines whether the dumping and subsidizing of imported goods cause injury or threaten to cause injury to a domestic industry. As of December 31, 2015, there were 27 SIMA findings and orders in force. The Tribunal issued all its decisions within the tight deadlines set out in SIMA.

Procurement Review

During fiscal year 2015-2016, the Tribunal received 70 procurement complaints and issued 70 decisions on whether to accept complaints for injury. The Tribunal also issued 25 final decisions on merit where complaints were accepted for inquiry. Combined, this represented a total of 95 decisions. The 70 complaints received in this fiscal year pertained to 58 different contracts with a collective value of $2.55 billion. All procurement review decisions were issued within legislated deadlines.

Appeals

A total of 40 appeals were filed during the reporting period. The Tribunal issued 26 decisions under the Customs Act and 2 under SIMA. All but one appeal was decided within 120 days of being heard by the Tribunal. The average appeal was decided within 81 days.

Caseload

The first table below contains statistics pertaining to the Tribunal’s caseload for 2015-2016. The second table contains statistics relating to other case-related activities in 2015-2016. These statistics illustrate the complexity and diversity of the cases considered by the Tribunal.