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WTO Turkey and Turkey Products TRQ - Serial No. 947

Date: October 1, 2019

This Notice replaces Notice to Importers No. 886 dated September 30, 2016, and sets out the policies and practices pertaining to the administration of Canada’s tariff rate quota (TRQ) for turkey and turkey products under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This Notice is provided pursuant to the authority of the Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA) and its corresponding regulations, and remains in effect until further notice.

Definitions
Allocation policy
Eligibility criteria
Calculation of allocations
Transfer, return and under-utilization of allocations
Information related to import permits of turkey and turkey products
Related links

Definitions

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

Trim meat means any turkey meat, excluding mechanically separated meat and tenders, which: (1) is the by-product of a trimming, boning, cutting or advanced meat recovery operation; (2) is used in a formulation; and (3) has been purchased or valued at a cost less than random (e.g. line run) whole muscle breast meat.

Turkey means a product that is included in items 105 to 113 on the Import Control List (ICL), namely turkey and turkey products 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.

Note: For the purpose of this Notice, all quantities of turkey and turkey products are expressed in eviscerated equivalent pursuant to the List of EIPA commodity codes for turkey and turkey products.

Allocation policy

To be eligible to apply, you must be active in the turkey industry at the time of application, and must remain active throughout the quota year.
- Note: In the case of non-ICL processors, this means that you must continue producing non-ICL products throughout the quota year to remain eligible for an allocation.
Processors considered to be related to foodservice companies are not eligible for an allocation under the non-ICL portion of the turkey and turkey products TRQ.
Except for traditional allocation holders, who may also apply for a share of the non-ICL portion of the TRQ, individual applicants and related persons applicants are normally eligible for only one allocation.
- Note: All applicants must provide a list of related persons.
If you are a traditional allocation holder, and have submitted a complete application for the new quota year, you may receive an advance of up to 30% of your initial allocation in the previous year, subject to any under-utilization penalty that may apply.
If you are a processor of non-ICL products, and have submitted a complete application for the new quota year, normally you will receive an advance of up to 30% of your imports in the previous year.
After allocations to the traditional allocation holder and non-ICL applicants are completed, any portion of the TRQ that remains unallocated is used to meet supplemental import needs, including for import-to-compete and market shortage, up to June 30.
Any portion of the TRQ that remains unallocated on June 30 is allocated to traditional allocation holders on a pro-rata basis.
The intent of the non-ICL allocation policy is to assist Canadian manufacturers to compete directly with like products that can enter Canada duty-free or at a low rate of duty.

Eligibility criteria

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

Traditional allocation holder

who can demonstrate active involvement in the turkey or food industry.

Processors of non-ICL products

that manufactures non-ICL products in your owned and operated Canadian establishments that are in good standing and have received processing licenses 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 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) letter of opinion;
- products for which you are unable to provide the finished product recipe, processing method and composition of the meat;
- mechanically separated meat (MSM);
- added fat; and
- added skin.
Note: If you use marinated turkey in your non-ICL product, you must use the pre-marinated weight of the turkey in your application.
Note: If MSM is not available domestically at U.S.-competitive prices, the Minister may authorize supplemental imports for MSM.
Note: If your non-ICL products are manufactured using ground meat, finely textured meat or trim meat, you must provide information concerning the total amount of these products used in the production of your non-ICL products.

Calculation of allocations

Traditional allocation holders

are each allocated the amount of quota that they were allocated in the previous year, as adjusted since (e.g. for under-utilization)

Processors of non-ICL products:

are allocated any remaining quota on the basis of one kilogram of import quota for each kilogram of turkey inputs used in the production of non-ICL products in the reference period.
- If the total amount of turkey requested for the production of non-ICL products exceeds the quantity available to processors of non-ICL products, the allocation is done on a pro-rata basis.
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 product. (See Notice to Importers Turkey and Turkey Products - Supplemental Imports).

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. Returns are processed the following way:

Quota returned by traditional allocation holders is applied first against supplemental imports issued between January 1 and October 1 for market shortages, test marketing and extraordinary or unusual circumstances.
Quota returned by non-ICL allocation holders is applied first to import-to-compete supplemental imports issued between January 1 and October 1
- Note: Any remaining quota is reallocated to traditional allocation holders in proportion to their traditional allocation.

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.

Information related to import permits of turkey and turkey products

For import control purposes, partially deboned products are considered to be boneless, therefore you must use the appropriate EIPA boneless turkey codes when requesting a permit. Examples of such products include:
- fresh turkey breasts that have been partially deboned so that only the keel bone or cartilage remains.

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