Your Broker Knows Blog

Through the Portal: A CARM Choose Your Own Adventure

With CBSA’s CARM only weeks away and a notable number of businesses not yet registered in the CARM Client Portal, likely due to a lack of awareness, time, or ease in the process, we wanted to paint a picture of what the last few weeks leading up to implementation may look like.

March 27, 2024

What Is The Country Of Origin?

Gloria Terhaar

Like so many things when contending with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), determining your import’s ‘country of origin’ often seems simpler at first glance than it is in practice. You might even be tempted to think that an import’s ‘origin’ refers solely to where it is shipped from.

February 29, 2024

Pre, Post, & Perilous: An Audit and Verification Odyssey

Gloria Terhaar

Pre- and post-verification audits are among PCB's most useful and popular services. But what is a ‘verification?’ The best way to explore that is with an example and a tale that’s all too common in the world of international trade. We’ll dive into that momentarily, but first, let's talk about terminology. For our purposes, audit and verification are essentially interchangeable terms, with ‘audit’ most often referring to a broader and more colloquial usage and ‘verification’ most typically referring to an official audit performed by Customs on a business and its import records.

February 1, 2024

CBSA January 2024 Trade Verification Priorities List

Gloria Terhaar

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) recently released its verification priority list for January 2024. In this week’s post, we are going to give you an overview of the contents of the recently released verification list, its importance to importers, and some tips for importers to stay compliant in the face of a Customs inspection.

January 18, 2024

Who Needs To Use CARM? And Other Questions and Resolutions for 2024

Gloria Terhaar

A new year has arrived, and with it, a fresh bouquet of challenges for those who work in the world of international trade. In this blog, we will look ahead at two of the largest Canadian trade issues looming on the horizon of 2024 and, with them, the import resolutions and trade services you should consider taking on to turn those challenges into ripe opportunities.

January 11, 2024

PCB’s Top Blog Posts of 2023

Admin

Today, we are diving into the top 10 most popular posts of 2023, and based on this list, it is clear that this year was all about learning and growing as international business professionals, a trend we hope to help you continue into 2024. Before we get to the list, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all so much for reading this year, and we hope you stay with us in 2024 as we continue our journey through the ever-changing landscape of international trade!

December 7, 2023

Shipping Gifts Into Canada | A Tale Of How A Tablet's Not A Turnip

Gloria Terhaar

In preparation for gift giving season, we would like to share with you a cross-border holiday tale about one tablet's journey to the Canadian border.A U.S. supplier of produce wanted to say thank you to its Canadian purchaser by way of a gift. A few days before Christmas, the supplier slipped in a popular tablet with the purchaser's order. Although this was a very nice gesture, it came with a very large consequence for the unknowing purchaser who was the importer of record.

November 30, 2023

The Rubber Band of Canada’s Single-Use Plastic Ban

Gloria Terhaar

In June 2019, the Government of Canada announced a plan to ban the sale, manufacture, and importation of single-use plastics starting as early as 2021, a plan that would come to full fruition in December 2022. On November 16th, 2023, the single-use plastic ban was overturned by a Canadian court, and while that decision may feel like a green light to you as an importer, we urge restraint and caution. Putting aside whether this overturn lasts at all, as an importer, you may find that Canada’s appetite for single-use plastics has significantly shrunk since the last time it was legal.

November 23, 2023

An Import Horror Story

Admin

It’s Halloween night, and rain pounds on the glass of your quiet office. “We’ve never had these issues at customs before,” you say to no one in particular. Your voice is low and shaky, your fingers tapping a hasty tune on your desk, a bit more frantic than perhaps you intend. You knew you should have gone with a reputable broker, but you took a chance, and now here you are.

October 26, 2023

What The New CARM Release Date Means For Canadian Importers

Gloria Terhaar

The Canada Border Services Agency announced that the import-altering aspects of CARM (CBSA’s Assessment and Revenue Management) Release 2 are now expected in Oct y of 2024. Release 2 will be releasing in October of 2024.

August 24, 2023