Mr. Speaker, customs duties and taxes are assessed based on the time of importation of goods, as opposed to the date of when they are purchased. The government does not have information on when purchase orders were made.
Since the general tariff of 35% took effect on virtually all goods imported from Russia on March 2, 2022, fertilizer importations with a value for duty of $95.8 million resulted in a total value of customs duties collected of $33.5 million. There have been no commercial importations of fertilizer from Russia into Canada since May 2022.
On June 27, at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Elmau, Germany, Canada and other G7 members committed to explore possible pathways to use tariff revenues on imports from Russia and Belarus to assist Ukraine. Further to this commitment, on December 13, 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance announced that Canada will provide these funds to Ukraine to help repair Kyiv’s power grid.
Effective June 20, 2022, the Government of Canada also provided additional interest-free relief under the advance payment program. This change is forecasted to save producers $75.7 million, over two program years, to offset the rising costs of inputs, including fertilizers.
The government is working with representatives from the sector to determine the best mechanisms to reinvest the equivalent of the amount on fertilizer imports into the sector.