New tarrifs for US boaters entering Canadian waters-gctid805465

[Nikko]

In response to the The U.S. Commerce Department imposing import duties ranging from 3 per cent to 24 per cent on shipments from Canadian softwood lumber producers, Tourism Canada is now preparing Toll Boats to collect tariffs on US boaters entering Canada. Actual rates have not yet been announced, but sources say the rates paid by boaters will balance revenues lost due to the imposed import duties on softwood lumber..

(no, not really - but..... )

[TenMile]

Well, they already have a $25 tariff for Canadian boats entering US waters now. Started last season -- we had a club cruise to Roche Harbor and the line at US Customs was over 3 hours long because it was taking the officers almost 30 minutes per guest to do the security check, issue the transit permit and take payment. They finally stopped issuing the permits, checked all the boats in and had them come back the next day to complete the permit paperwork.

This year, one of the agents came over to our club (on his one time and expense) and gave us all the paperwork and helped everyone fill it out. Even took payment from us to speed up the process. He explained that the intention was to collect a $19 Entry Tariff and a $19 Exit Tariff for all Canadians visiting the US by boat -- which would have meant that Canadians would have to physically check in and out of the US to pay the fee. They found a loophole and issue a "Transit Permit" rather than a "Cruising Permit" so that you can leave without having to pay the tariff.

[mlewis100]

"TenMile" post=805472 wrote:
Well, they already have a $25 tariff for Canadian boats entering US waters now. Started last season -- we had a club cruise to Roche Harbor and the line at US Customs was over 3 hours long because it was taking the officers almost 30 minutes per guest to do the security check, issue the transit permit and take payment. They finally stopped issuing the permits, checked all the boats in and had them come back the next day to complete the permit paperwork.

This year, one of the agents came over to our club (on his one time and expense) and gave us all the paperwork and helped everyone fill it out. Even took payment from us to speed up the process. He explained that the intention was to collect a $19 Entry Tariff and a $19 Exit Tariff for all Canadians visiting the US by boat -- which would have meant that Canadians would have to physically check in and out of the US to pay the fee. They found a loophole and issue a "Transit Permit" rather than a "Cruising Permit" so that you can leave without having to pay the tariff.

So it sounds like the cruising permit is the best way to go; This is a per boat fee? Is this once per year or is a new "Cruising Permit" require every visit?

Does a Nexus pass help streamline this process at all?

We haven't gone over by boat in roughly two years but it certainly sounds like it may be a much more significant effort now to do so.

[CptCrunchie]

"Nikko" post=805465 wrote:
In response to the The U.S. Commerce Department imposing import duties ranging from 3 per cent to 24 per cent on shipments from Canadian softwood lumber producers, Tourism Canada is now preparing Toll Boats to collect tariffs on US boaters entering Canada. Actual rates have not yet been announced, but sources say the rates paid by boaters will balance revenues lost due to the imposed import duties on softwood lumber..

(no, not really - but..... )

WAHAHA!!!! Love Canadian humour! :woohoo:

[Norton_Rider]

"Nikko" post=805465 wrote:
In response to the The U.S. Commerce Department imposing import duties ranging from 3 per cent to 24 per cent on shipments from Canadian softwood lumber producers, Tourism Canada is now preparing Toll Boats to collect tariffs on US boaters entering Canada. Actual rates have not yet been announced, but sources say the rates paid by boaters will balance revenues lost due to the imposed import duties on softwood lumber..

(no, not really - but..... )

I believe that boats made with Canadian lumber are exempt from the fee.

[Iproff]

The village idiot strikes again. WWIII IS NEXT

[Iproff]

The village idiot strikes again.

[TenMile]

"mlewis100" post=805490 wrote:


So it sounds like the cruising permit is the best way to go; This is a per boat fee? Is this once per year or is a new "Cruising Permit" require every visit?

Does a Nexus pass help streamline this process at all?

We haven't gone over by boat in roughly two years but it certainly sounds like it may be a much more significant effort now to do so.

No, the Transit permit is good for *One Year* however, you have to wait 2 weeks after expiration to get a new one -- so if yours expires on March 31st, you can't renew until April 15th. AFAIK, the Cruising Permit is paid at each entry/exit -- thats what the officer explained to our club. He encouraged us to provide constructive feedback on the CBP website.

[dmcb]

US boats over 30' have to pay a fee to the US when we return. Its $35 so you Canadians get a bargain. You can pay when you return and check in customs or you can buy a sticker before you leave. That allows you to use a Nexus card and call in. You don't have to appear at a customs office with a Nexus card but you would have to so you can pay the fee if you don't have the sticker.

The Nexus card does nothing for us entering Canada. We still have to appear at an approved port, phone in and get a number. They could make us wait for an inspection but that has never happened to us. Its about 30 miles out of our way to a port to call so if it were like going back to the states the Nexus would really help us.

Canadians cannot just call in when they get back in Canada. They have to do the same as us.

Doug

[MidnightSun]

"TenMile" post=805472 wrote:
Well, they already have a $25 tariff for Canadian boats entering US waters now. Started last season -- we had a club cruise to Roche Harbor and the line at US Customs was over 3 hours long because it was taking the officers almost 30 minutes per guest to do the security check, issue the transit permit and take payment. They finally stopped issuing the permits, checked all the boats in and had them come back the next day to complete the permit paperwork.

This year, one of the agents came over to our club (on his one time and expense) and gave us all the paperwork and helped everyone fill it out. Even took payment from us to speed up the process. He explained that the intention was to collect a $19 Entry Tariff and a $19 Exit Tariff for all Canadians visiting the US by boat -- which would have meant that Canadians would have to physically check in and out of the US to pay the fee. They found a loophole and issue a "Transit Permit" rather than a "Cruising Permit" so that you can leave without having to pay the tariff.

Unfortunately these are the games the border patrol on both sides play however this varies by location as the what rules they want to dig up and enforce or enterpret in various ways. 2 years ago we had a notice posted at our marina that anyone venturing into US waters, must report back to Canadian customs upon their return as technically they had been in another country. Keep in mind all boats coming up the St Laurence must cross into US waters just to navigate the channel and that the river separates Canada US. This would mean almost all boats would need to check in upon their return to the marina. I was even warned orally by one officer at my dock who told me they could seize my boat if I did not comply. Never listened to him nor did I comply and the following season this dreamt up stupidity miraculously vanished.

The cruising permit deal is a west coast thing, does not happen over here on the east coat

If you are prepared then the boat part is easy and no fees so to say are collected but again you need to be up to regulation and this does include having your US entry decal. Before Nexus there was and still is the I-68 and a few other methods which can be seen here. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/pleasure-...-boat-overview I cross back and forth on a regular basis all summer long. We are Nexus and do renew our $27.50 annual fee US decal every year which has alway been there since I can remember except it was $20 several years back. Entry is simply a cell phone call away to US customs/immigration where they give us an entry number, same goes when coming back to Canada with a call to Canadian customs/immigration. Very easy and painless. In my 20+ years of boating and doing this, not once have I been boarded or inspected or actually seen a real live agent on the US side but they do have the right to ask tell me to navigate to my destination port and wait for an officer for inspection or if I call in when already docked at a marina, to remain on board and wait for a customs officer.

Here is an article which pretty much says what you say. You will also notice this regulation has been around since 1969 but was never enforced as of god knows when. Someone on the west coast wanted to stand out from the crowd so instruction was given to enforce this in the area. Again, this is not happening anywhere else except the west coast to my knowledge. Oddly enough there is no mention of the cruising permit or any other similar permit, hmmm! http://currents.bluewatercruising.or...-process-2016/

[driz]

I wonder where all this is going to go. Maybe one of these days one of the agencies who have been politely ignoring all these Canadian boats hundreds of them that are illegally registered in Lake Champlain. The Canadians And US agencies involved know all about it yet nobody says a word as long as the monies coming in from tourism ect. And it's not just a few there's hundreds of them and I'm sure they do it elsewhere as well.

From what I know the scam goes like this you buy it down here as Canadian to export to Canada no sales tax because it's exported. Then somehow get it registered in Quebec

Then you just keep it here and somehow managed to register it in Canada and I'm imagining you don't take it into Canada which would be sort of a risk these days with computers and such. From what I know the Canadians doing this and there's hundreds of them are pretty happy with the arrangement including a few high government officials one of which I heard had to take an early retirement because he had is $750,000 yacht parked down here under those circumstances, naturally. Of course the Marinas are making a killing and I'm assuming the counties and townships involved so everybody's happy down here apparently except for people who live next to the rapidly expanding marinas. Their big issues are sewage over the side because the Marines are charging pump out fees even to those who are moored here.

The locals aren't happy having all those boats parked in front of the property they pay taxes through the nose on while the marinas rake in the cash . Then there's the hundreds of tires they get loose and deposit up by Rouses point and along the shoreline every year. Of course they're all supposed to be marked yet few if any are. All these agencies including the Coast Guard and even the Army Corps of Engineers conveniently manage to ignore that as well and just passed the ball back-and-forth. In short, nobody cares, at least for now, not in Albany, DC or Ottawa .

Radio Canada did an expose on the illegally registered boatsback in either in 2014 or 2015. It was on YouTube somewhere came out sometime in the late winter following your October journey around the lake filming . I know all about it because I'm the guy that took them all around the marinas with my boat for the filming. Too bad I couldn't watch it because it's in French and I don't speak French, oh well.

Anyway this little scam been going on for decades now and no one really wanted to know however I wonder how long it's going to be before these agencies discover what that they do already know and are going to wake up and start addressing this ? :whistle: :whistle: I don't own any lakefront property and I don't want to do to the horrendous taxes so don't have a horse in the race. Some local waterfront are getting pretty loud about it which is how I became aware of it. Myself I'm just gonna kick back with my popcorn and watch the fireworks If they happen at all.

[talman]

I notice that the Canadian boats all fill up before they head north. I'm guessing the $36 is a drop in the fuel tank, so to speak.

Our Costco has 25 pallets of milk. The Canadian cars are full of milk if they can find room next to the jerry cans of gas they take across the border.

I'm sure if the US subsidies of dairy ended, and the crazy high CDN taxes on their petrol were lowered the long lines would end here

You can be huffy with the timber tariff. Your government it taking it to you harder than we are.

[CptCrunchie]

"talman" post=805616 wrote:
I notice that the Canadian boats all fill up before they head north. I'm guessing the $36 is a drop in the fuel tank, so to speak.

Our Costco has 25 pallets of milk. The Canadian cars are full of milk if they can find room next to the jerry cans of gas they take across the border.

I'm sure if the US subsidies of dairy ended, and the crazy high CDN taxes on their petrol were lowered the long lines would end here

You can be huffy with the timber tariff. Your government it taking it to you harder than we are.

It's always been that way. I believe it's more about the numbers than anything. The US has roughly 10 times the people and it is smaller in total area. That means Canadian shipping costs to service that area are going to be higher. Here are some numbers. Granted, they are from 2008, but they basically reflect my point.

[attachment]35593 wrote:
CanadaUS.jpg[/attachment]

Canada has about the same population as California, but they have great distances to ship products.

As to milk, IMHO, being a dual citizen and having lived in both countries, Canada allows milk producers to add up to 10% water to their products, where the US has a purer, more wholesome product.

[aluxury1]

How about they re-focus the energy and money at our southern border where the problems are instead of hassling those generating the funding these projects. :silly: :woohoo: :side:


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[TPerk274]

"CptCrunchie" post=805623 wrote:
The US has roughly 10 times the people and it is smaller in total area.

Except that 75% of Canadians live with 100 miles of the U.S. border. A good deal of the north beyond that is uninhabited. Not a lot of deliveries going up there.