Antitrust Authority Opposes Safeguard Duty on Canadian Marijuana

The Anti-Monopoly Authority, which was reviewing the request of Israeli medical marijuana producers to impose a safeguard duty on imports of medical marijuana from Canada, concluded that the recommendation of the person in charge of the safeguard duties at the Ministry of Economy was based on incorrect data.

The person in charge of protective duties, Dani Tal, argues that Canadian producers are exporting marijuana at dumping prices that are lower than the cost of production in Canada itself, and proposes introducing a duty of 175% of the purchase price.

The antimonopoly department came to the conclusion that importers are buying medical marijuana at a price higher than the Canadian price, which invalidates any talk of dumping. The report of the head of the antimonopoly department, Michal Cohen, indicates that Tal, when comparing prices, completely ignored data on the cannabinoid content in various varieties of marijuana, in fact comparing cheap varieties with expensive concentrates.

It should be noted that the Israeli Ministry of Health also considers the introduction of a protective duty on marijuana unjustified.