Canada to modify its General Preferential Tariff and raise tariffs on 72 countries.
Canada has had a policy of extending special tariff reductions to developing countries. These special rates are called the General Preferential Tariff ("GPT"
. The GPT is reviewed every ten years. The current version set to expire in 2014.
A review of the list of countries eligible for the GPT turns up some surprising names. The industrial powerhouses of China, Brazil and India remain on the list. First world city states in Singapore and Hong Kong are also on the list, as well as the Asian "Tigers" including South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. A full listing of countries eligible for the GPT may be found here.
Many developed countries, including the United States, the EU, Japan and Australia currently provide some form of preferential tariff to certain developing countries.
Economic circumstances around the world have changed significantly in the 38 years since the GPT came into effect. While it may have been a worthy and magnanimous gesture to offer preferential tariff treatment to a broad array of developing countries in 1974, circumstances in the world are much different today. It may now be fair to ask which countries have need of continued Canadian generosity.
Based on this methodology, as many as 72 of the current 175 beneficiary countries might no longer be covered under the GPT. Of the 103 countries that would still be covered by the GPT, approximately half (47) would also be covered by the Least Developed Country Tariff.
http://www.mcmillan.ca/will-tariffs-increase-on-imported-goods-from-certain-countries
Most developed countries have preferential tariff treatment for poor countries but countries that were 'poor' 40 years ago are not necessarily still poor today. Canada is proposing to drop 72 countries from eligibility (including China, India, Brazil and South Korea, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore) for preferential tariffs while maintaining it for 102 countries. This kind of update seems to be something that all countries should do. The poorest countries still need the help but many no longer qualify.
