NAFTA Edge
Duty-Free North American Market Access
Foreign firms located in British Columbia have duty-free access to the world’s largest market under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The rules of origin provisions in the agreement ensure secure market access for exported goods and services, and the agreement provides for a fair, equitable dispute resolution mechanism.
The NAFTA Edge
NAFTA is a comprehensive, legal framework for duty-free trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Companies located in a NAFTA country, regardless of their corporate nationality, can benefit from the ability to export and import duty-free within the NAFTA region, provided the goods meet NAFTA’s Rules of Origin.
Rules of Origin
Goods that are "wholly obtained or produced" within the NAFTA region or that meet the "Annex 401 Origin Criterion" qualify for duty-free treatment. "Wholly obtained or produced" means that the goods contain no non-NAFTA materials, parts or components.
Under Annex 401, goods incorporating non-NAFTA raw materials, parts or components, will qualify if they are sufficiently transformed within a NAFTA country so as to undergo a specified change in tariff classification with reference to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. (Note: Certain goods must also have a specified amount of NAFTA value-added content.)
Non-NAFTA Tariffs
Canada is one of the world’s most open trading economies. Canadian duties on imports from non-NAFTA countries are generally as low or lower than U.S. duties.
Canada also has bilateral free trade agreements with Chile, Israel and Costa Rica.