CUSMA: Chicken TRQ – Serial No. 1029

Date: June 15, 2020

This Notice to Importers sets out the interim policies and practices pertaining to the administration of Canada’s tariff rate quota (TRQ) for chicken under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

This Notice is provided pursuant to the authority of the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA) and its corresponding regulations, and is in effect for the 2020 TRQ year.

1. Definitions

Chicken means a product that is included in items 96 to 104 on the Import Control List (ICL), namely chicken falling under heading Nos. 01.05, 02.07, 02.09, 02.10, 16.01 and 16.02 in the list of tariff provisions set out in the Schedule to the Customs Tariff.

• For the purposes of this Notice, all quantities of chicken are expressed in eviscerated equivalents pursuant to the List of EIPA commodity codes for chicken.

Further processing means the manufacturing of products that are on the ICL. Such products include, but are not limited to, patties, nuggets, fingers, rolls or roasts produced from chicken meat; it also means marinating, smoking or drying, coating or seasoning chicken meat.

Food service operator means a restaurant or food service company that is active in the Canadian food service sector in the chicken industry.

ICL allocation holder means a traditional or non-traditional processor, distributor or food service operator that holds an allocation under the WTO-NAFTA TRQ, and that had a portion of its allocation held in reserve under the 2020 WTO-NAFTA TRQ allocation process as per the allocation letter dated March 27, 2020.

Non-ICL products means products that are not on the ICL and that are domestically manufactured using products that are on the ICL to compete with like imported products entering Canada duty-free or at a low rate of duty.

Processing means the slaughtering of chicken, cutting up of eviscerated chicken, de-boning of eviscerated or cut up chicken, or further processing of chicken meat.

2. Allocation policy

• To be eligible, you must be active regularly in the Canadian food or agriculture industry at the time of application, and must remain active throughout the upcoming quota year.
  • Note: All applicants must provide a list of related persons.
• The intent of the non-ICL allocation policy is to assist Canadian manufacturers to compete with like products that can enter Canada duty-free or at a low rate of duty.

3. Eligibility criteria

You do not need to apply if you are an:

ICL allocation holder

• You are automatically considered an applicant under the CUSMA Chicken TRQ.

You are eligible to apply for an allocation if you are a:

Processor of non-ICL products

• that manufactures non-ICL products in your owned and operated Canadian establishment that is in good standing and has received a processing license from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA); and
• sells these products at the wholesale level.
• you must exclude the following from your application:
  • products that have not been processed in Canada in CFIA-approved plants owned and operated by you;
  • products for which you have not obtained a letter of opinion from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA);
  • products for which you are unable to provide the finished product recipe, processing method and composition of the meat;
  • products exported, or intended to be exported, from Canada;
  • products for which only packaging was performed;
  • products sold to related persons;
  • products sold at the retail level to consumers;
  • products containing meat from old roosters or spent fowl;
  • meat-on-meat products, meaning products that contain meat other than chicken and turkey, and less than 7% of non-meat ingredients (excluding spices and seasonings);
  • brochettes, meaning products composed of chicken and other ingredients on a skewer, pick or rod;
  • mechanically separated meat;
  • finely textured meat;
  • naturally occurring and added chicken skin; and,
  • added fat.
• Note: If you use marinated chicken in your non-ICL product, you must use the pre-marinated weight of the chicken in your application.
• If you are related to a food service operator, you may be eligible to apply for an allocation provided that:
  • you provide a written guarantee that the non-ICL products are for retail sale only;
  • you undertake to pay for an independent auditor, approved by the Department, to evaluate and certify that the products are, and will be, produced and sold for retail sale only; and,
  • you undertake to have such evaluations done, at your own cost, as often as quarterly if so requested by the Department.
• For the 2020 CUSMA Chicken TRQ year only, the Department will accept letters of opinion issued by the CBSA under both the pre- and post-CUSMA entry into force definition of specially defined mixtures.

Non-ICL allocation holder under the 2020 WTO-NAFTA Chicken and Chicken Products TRQ

• for the manufacture of products included in your 2020 WTO-NAFTA allocation application, you do not need to submit an application for allocation under the CUSMA Chicken TRQ, simply provide the following information by email at Chicken-Poulet@international.gc.ca:
  • The complete name of your company
  • Name and contact information of the authorized company’s representative
  • Your company EIPA number
• for the manufacture of products not included in your 2020 WTO-NAFTA allocation application, you must submit an application.
  • Note: Include in your application form only the new products and provide the letter of opinion from the CBSA for any newly approved non-ICL products.

Processor of non-ICL products that is not a non-ICL allocation holder under the 2020 WTO-NAFTA Chicken and Chicken Products TRQ

• You are required to submit an application form.

4. Calculation of allocations

ICL allocation holders

• are each allocated their remaining allocation that was held in reserve under the WTO-NAFTA allocation process for the 2020 TRQ year. This volume accounts for approximately 33.3% of the total available quota under the CUSMA Chicken TRQ for 2020.
  • Note: There is no additional quota being made available to these sectors under this TRQ in 2020.

Processors of non-ICL products

• are allocated the remaining quota, approximately 66.7% of the total available quota under the CUSMA Chicken TRQ for 2020, on the basis of one kilogram of import quota for each kilogram of chicken inputs used in the production of non-ICL products in the reference period.
  • If the total amount of chicken requested for the production of non-ICL products exceeds the quantity available to processors of non-ICL products, the allocation is done on a prorated basis.
  • Any dark meat you require for the production of your non-ICL chicken products is supplied by the CFC Market Development Program (MDP). To obtain dark meat through the MDP, you should:
    • include the dark meat requirements in your quota application; and
    • contact us at Chicken-Poulet@international.gc.ca to obtain a numbered and dated letter for each purchase order.
    • Note: If you are unable to access your specific dark meat needs through the MDP at prices competitive with U.S. product landed in Canada, you may apply for supplemental imports for these products. (See Notice to Importers Chicken and Chicken Products - Supplemental Imports)
• If the amount of quota you are allocated for the production of non-ICL products is insufficient to meet your manufacturing needs, you may apply for supplemental imports through the Import-to-Compete program. Supplemental import requests are authorized only for the specific inputs you require for the manufacturing of your non-ICL products. (See Notice to Importers Chicken and Chicken Products - Supplemental Imports)
  • Note: As a component of the evaluation of supplemental import requests under the Import-to-Compete program, the Department will review whether you have any remaining allocation under any TRQ for chicken products and whether the you can reasonably source the requested product from the eligible destinations under the TRQ in question. If you have not submitted an application for one of the available chicken TRQs, you may be asked to submit a written explanation as to why you did not apply for any TRQ allocation.
  • Note: For the 2020 CUSMA Chicken TRQ year only, letters of opinion issued by the CBSA under both the pre- and post- CUSMA entry into force definition of specially defined mixtures will be accepted for the purpose of Import-to-Compete supplemental authorizations.

5. Transfer, return and under-utilization of allocations

• If you wish to transfer any portion of your allocation, you must submit a transfer request form.
• You may return any portion of your allocation to the Department in writing by the prescribed return date.
  • Note: Returned quantities will normally be made available seven days after the return date to eligible allocation holders, who have not returned any portion of their allocation, in proportion to their initial allocation, or on demand if quantities still remain after the first offer. 
• If you use less than 90% of your allocation in one year, you may have your allocation adjusted downward by an under-utilization penalty in the following year.
  • Note: Any portion of your allocation that you transfer or return in accordance with the present policy is considered to have been used.

6. Information related to import permits of chicken

• For import control purposes, partially deboned products are considered to be boneless. Therefore, you must use the appropriate EIPA boneless chicken codes when requesting a permit. Examples of such products include:
  • fresh chicken breasts that have been partially deboned so that only the keel bone or cartilage remains;
  • boneless chicken breast, with or without skin, with part or all of the wing bone attached (generally referred to as Chicken Supreme).
• Processed chicken - adjustment for non-chicken ingredients:
  • if you are requesting a permit to import a processed chicken product that is on the ICL (i.e., products beginning with tariff codes 1601 or 1602), you may request that any breading, battering, salt and spices be deducted from the weight of the product. All other inputs, including water used in marination, are considered part of the chicken.
  • Note: For the 2020 CUSMA Chicken TRQ allocation year, adjusted quantities of recipes that were previously approved by the Department under the WTO-NAFTA TRQ remain eligible under the CUSMA Chicken TRQ.
  • to be eligible to make use of this provision, you must:
    • submit the product recipe and production procedures prior to applying for an import permit;
    • indicate the product number in the comment field on the import permit application form; and,
    • list both the actual gross weight (in the QUANTITY field) and the actual net weight in the (DOCUMENT QUANTITY field) in the import permit application.

7. Related links

• General Information on the Administration of Import Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) for Supply-Managed Products
• Key dates and access quantities
• Description of non-ICL products
• Information on related persons
• How to apply for an allocation
  • Application form – non ICL
• List of EIPA commodity codes for chicken
• How to apply for an import permit
• Allocation transfer request form
• Contact us