Ottawa, December 28, 2011
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The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today launched consultations to examine Canada’s foreign trade zone (FTZ)-like policies and programs, further to the commitment outlined in Budget 2011, the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
“We need to ensure that these policies and programs are internationally competitive, effectively marketed and administratively efficient,” said Minister Flaherty. “We look forward to receiving input from stakeholders. Our goal is to have policies and programs that continue to attract investment and provide the greatest economic benefit for Canadians.”
Canada’s tax and tariff policies and national FTZ-like programs provide benefits comparable to those offered by site-specific FTZs in other countries. In recent years, the Government has taken important steps to enhance these tax and tariff advantages, notably by working to make Canada a tariff-free zone for manufacturers and contributing to a single-window pilot project for federal, provincial and municipal services at CentrePort Canada.
Stakeholders wishing to provide input are invited to submit their comments to the following address or by e-mail to Tariff-Tarif@fin.gc.ca. The closing date for comments is February 17, 2012.
Consultations on Foreign Trade Zone Programming
Department of Finance Canada
International Trade Policy Division, 14th Floor East
140 O’Connor Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0G5
For further information, media may contact:
Mary Ann Dewey-Plante
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Finance
613-996-7861
Jack Aubry
Media Relations
Department of Finance
613-996-8080
