Unite-Here, a trade union representing textiles, clothing, restaurant and hotel workers, has announced its intention to file a petition to the Government of Canada on future imports of clothing and textiles from the People’s Republic of China in an attempt to have safeguard measures invoked.

As in the US filing, the safeguards are intended to restrict Chinese access to the Canadian market in order to protect Canadian domestic producers of clothing and textiles.

It is conceivable that the Minister of Finance may invoke provisional measures while the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) conducts an inquiry to determine if in fact injury does exist.

Depending on the recommendations noted as a result of the inquiry, the Minister of Finance may invoke safeguards, however the Minister of Finance will closely watch the impact to industry as a whole taking into consideration the effects on consumers before any final determinations are made in terms of  implementation of quota and or  a surtax.