Field notes from the Canadian border.
Practical playbooks and case studies from our brokers. No thought-leadership fluff — just the stuff we wish every importer knew before they called us in a panic.
CFIA End-Use Codes: The CAD Filing Detail That Holds Shipments
A July CFIA update added twelve new end uses to a single HS code for live clams. That's a niche change, but the operational pattern it exposes — missing or wrong CFIA end-use declarations delaying CBSA release — hits every first-time importer of CFIA-regulated goods. Here's how it actually works at the border.
Read article →CITT Rules Injury on Truck Bodies from China—AD/CVD Collection Starts Now
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal found injury to the domestic truck body industry from Chinese dumping. Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are now enforceable on subject imports at the border.
Read article →Container Rate Volatility and Your CBSA Duty Filings
Ocean freight rates just hit a two-year high. That number flows through every Commercial Accounting Declaration you file, every RPP bond calculation, and every landed-cost decision your finance team makes. Here's what working customs brokers are watching.
Read article →GIP No. 83 Aluminum Amendments: What Changed and What Your CAD Needs Now
CBSA tightened information requirements for aluminum imports under General Import Permit No. 83. If you bring in aluminum products from China or other listed countries, your CAD filings now need additional data points. Here's what that means for compliance and release timing.
Read article →Import Permits Don't Backfill — Why ICL Goods Stuck at CBSA Cost More Than the Permit Fee
CBSA updated D19-10-2 on Import Control List procedures. The permit workflow hasn't changed, but CARM-era enforcement has. Missing a GAC permit before your goods land means release stops, demurrage starts, and your customer's line doesn't wait.
Read article →Product Compliance Software and the CAD Filing Gap
Assent's acquisition of IPOINT highlights a gap many Canadian importers face: product compliance data lives in one system, customs declaration data in another. For automotive and electronics importers filing CADs under CARM, that disconnect slows release and raises AMPS risk.
Read article →CARM Portal Maintenance July 15: What the 3-Hour Blackout Means for Filings
The CARM Client Portal goes offline for three hours on July 15, 2026 from 3am to 6am ET. CBSA's contingency plan covers the gap, but if you file at odd hours or run overnight customs operations, the timing matters.
Read article →CFIA's Brazil Porcine Blood Meal Certificate: What It Tells Importers About Species Segregation
CFIA's new export certificate for porcine blood meal to Brazil reveals how the agency enforces species segregation and BSE controls on imported animal feed ingredients. If you're bringing in blood meal, poultry meal, or other rendered proteins, here's what the documentation and testing requirements look like at the Canadian border.
Read article →Steady Ocean Rates Don't Mean Steady Landed Costs — What Canadian Importers Miss
Stable container spot rates mask the duty, currency, and CARM compliance variables that determine your real landed cost per unit. Here's what we watch beyond the freight line.
Read article →Strait of Hormuz Disruptions and Canadian Import Clearance: What Brokers Are Watching
Middle East shipping reroutes are creating CBSA clearance complications Canadian importers need to plan for now—freight cost swings affect duty valuation, origin proofs strain under new transit patterns, and CARM filing windows tighten when carrier schedules collapse.
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