Americans with recent experience buying from Canada? (Summer-fall 2025)

Are you being charged tariffs on small purchases?  Is it just imported wholesale goods or is it everyone?  Is there a limit, ie, under X dollars, no fee, but over X... ?

Are there any delays or other weirdness?  Anything else I need to ask shipping from canada?

Hopeful for people in the USA who have received stuff from Canada in the last month, but would love to hear other stories too.  As this seems to change week to week, perhaps you could mention when.

The company I work for does a lot of business with a manufacturer in Ontario. No changes on prices or shipping. Cost of parts (5$ to $10,000) or whole unit orders ($15,000-$30,000).

That's good to hear.

I understand some manufacturing sectors are exempt... but sometimes the news stories outlast my attention span and I don't remember any other details.

Anyone else?

I was in  couple of stores yesterday.  I saw several items marked in large letters … Made In  Canada.  The labeling was by the manufacturer.  There appears to be an organized attempt to get a message out.

Yep, the labeling change is a trend here,  i like it.

...

I'm more worred about the shipping of small, personal orders (less than a couple of hundred dollars) so I can know what to expect when I reopen my etsy shop or send presents to american friends.  

If it's a hassle for americans to get prcels from canada (above and beyond pre 2025 levels), then I'll just block shipping to the usa until things settle down.

I think I have only ordered one vinyl album from Canada lately. It showed up. Cover was slit on each side that was not open. Somewhat of a bummer but I didn't complain because it was direct from the artist and didn't want to make anyone's life any harder. The record itself is fine.

I was in  couple of stores yesterday.  I saw several items marked in large letters … Made In  Canada.  The labeling was by the manufacturer.  There appears to be an organized attempt to get a message out.

For many years(80s, 90s, maybe still?) records from certain companies said "jacket made in Canada" on the back. I always liked that. There is even a band from Minneapolis that made a great record by that name. Great album.

https://www.arcwelderband.com/official-releases/jacket-made-in-canada

Do you think it was inspected at customs and damaged then?  Was the record okay?

r ranson wrote:Do you think it was inspected at customs and damaged then?  Was the record okay?

I didn't see any evidence it had been inspected. It did look roughly handled so who knows.

The record is fine. I guess many sellers will remove the record from the sleeve to avoid the sleeve splitting during rough handling. No big deal. They're a musician not a packaging expert.

I haven't made a cross-border purchase since February. I don't know if this is useful, but my daughter just made a road-trip to Toronto and back and customs didn't say anything to her about tariffs on stuff she bought. (But I'm not clear on what is even supposed to be covered.)

A news story last night says small imports into the USA of $800usf and less, will become exempt from tariffs

The news story failed to include details like from what countries or if they were even tariffed before.

Any insight?

And this story says the opposite
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-suspends-de-minimis-exception-1.7597830

As I understand it, the "de minimus" exemption for imports of small value packages into the US has been removed. This has been in the works for a while. While this offered advantages to many small businesses (including those in the US since Canada/Mexico offered exceptions also), the primary beneficiaries were "big offshore operators selling online stuff."

Given the scale of this, it's quite possible that the backlog at customs will be massive. And if a courier company pays the fees, the customer will be billed, period, no recourse, no refunds. And quite possibly billed after the fact, so it won't appear in the original purchase and shipping invoice.

At least that's how I understand it. The rules are pretty complicated.

Is that like the duty free limit for canadians ordering stuff from the usa?  I think we upped it from $20 to $80cad a few years ago.  

If it is, the tariff would probably be collected like duty when the item is delivered.

(As a side rant, totally sucks most american shops offer free shipping 5o canada at $150usd so we have to calculate if we want to pay shipping or unknown duty and brokerage fees)

It's a similar idea, but I think it's actually spelled out under CUSMA / USMCA.

With the current rules and rates in constant flux, sellers and shippers can't predict what the tariff charges will be (esp. for "overseas" parcels). I have read reports of US customers getting slammed with hefty, separate bills from shippers like FedEx.

The big problem wit using fedex or ups is they have a lot of undeclared fees.

A story.

One day I bought the same thing, for the same amount, from two different US shops.  One shipped with the post office, the other with UPS.  The CAD dollar tanked overnight and suddenly both orders were over the duty free limit of $80cad.  

The post office charged me the normal tax (about 15%) and $1.70 processing.

UPS charged me
Pre processing fee
Pre brokerage fee
Customs handling fees (more than one)
Tax
14 more different fees
Tax again, including tax on the tax.
For a grand total of
$120 extra fees on an $80 order

Then they treid to charge it again and I had to spend several hours providing the receipt the driver gave me was real.

It's not much better commercially as UPS has fancy "you aren't using our broker" fees.

The postal system, when working, is usually much kinded to the customer.

Sorry for the rant.  In the last 15 years, I've had fewer than five simple deliveries from UPS.  They used to be so reliable,  but less so now.

Got an email saying this today.  Anyone able to confirm?

A friendly reminder to our American friends: starting August 29th, the US government is removing the de minimis exemption—which currently allows orders under $800 USD to enter the country duty-free. This means that after this date, all US-bound orders will be subject to duties and tariffs, regardless of the order value. These fees will be the responsibility of the receiver.

At the current moment, I can confirm that there are plans in the US for removing the exception that go in effect on August 29th

I would not be surprised if there is a last minute change due to the current administration's brinkmanship strategy when it comes to international economics but I would plan for the exception to expire at this moment.

I had a piece of mail from Canada just arrive to me in the states that is at least a month late from when it should of arrived.

r ranson wrote:Got an email saying this today.  Anyone able to confirm?

A friendly reminder to our American friends: starting August 29th, the US government is removing the de minimis exemption—which currently allows orders under $800 USD to enter the country duty-free. This means that after this date, all US-bound orders will be subject to duties and tariffs, regardless of the order value. These fees will be the responsibility of the receiver.

That is a friendly reminder. At least there is a date I don't have to look up elsewhere. Uhg.

I have doubts as to the accuracy as they have been saying every day for the last two weeks about how there are zero duty, tax, or fees on stuff bought by individuals no matter the price, which I know is incorrect and has been for almost ever.

Thus checking their new version here

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2p17xypgko
Bbc article on shipping to the usa.

Key points (copy paste from article)

- Postal services around the world are pausing some deliveries to the US over confusion around new import taxes that must be paid on parcels from the end of the month.
- US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month ending the global import tax exemption on low-value parcels, which takes effect from 29 August.
- gifts worth less than $100 will remain duty-free,

The emphasis seems to be 'gifts'.  

I know from expierence, many smaller sellers (and big) try to get past customs by labeling items they sold as gifts, causing all sorts of problems for their customers.  (Not just in the usa, it's problematic in most countries).  So if it's a gift, it's probably going to require a private return address and not bought with a biz account or biz discount.

From a Canada post email today

Bold mine

A Canada Post driver stands in front of a Canada Post van. He wears a reflective yellow jacket and carries a cardboard package for delivery.
Changes to $800 de minimis require pre-paid duties on items sent to U.S.

Hi, ...,


As you may be aware, the United States has suspended its duty-free "de minimis" threshold of US$800 for all countries, including Canada. Starting August 29, 2025, all shipments entering the U.S. must have duties prepaid before crossing the border - regardless of their value.


This change, mandated under U.S. Executive Order 14324, applies to all business shipments from Canada, whether sent through the postal system, a Canadian courier, freight provider, or any commercial channel.


At Canada Post, we've been working to understand the order, assess options, and secure solutions that will ensure we can maintain continuity for your business. We are moving swiftly to make the necessary updates to ensure your shipments remain compliant and continue moving smoothly across the border.


What's changing

Goods valued at US$800 or less that are shipped to the United States through the postal network will be subject to an ad valorem duty. This duty will be equal to the effective tariff rate applicable to the product's country of origin under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). For Canada, the current IEEPA rate is 35% for most goods.


What this means for your business

Starting August 29, 2025, every package shipped from Canada to the U.S. must show proof that duties have been prepaid before the shipment can be accepted for delivery.


What this means:


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After this date, Canada Post will only accept U.S.-bound label requests that include a valid Declaration ID - a 13-character code that confirms duties are secured before the shipment is accepted.

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The new U.S. customs regulations will impact your costs, delivery process and customer experience.


Keeping your shipments moving

To meet the new U.S. requirements, we're partnering with Zonos® to collect duties before they enter our network and remit them directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).


What this means:


•
...




Disclaimer (effective August 21, 2025)

Duty rates, tariffs and trade policies continue to evolve and are subject to ongoing change. The information here is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial or tax advice. The content has been compiled from government, industry or other publicly available sources, which may change without notice and have not been independently verified by Canada Post. The user assumes full responsibility for determining the applicability of any information provided. Prior to acting, users should seek independent professional advice tailored to their specific needs and situation.

Note "pre-paid" tax and duty!!!

Getting more and more emails from Canadian shops suspending shipping to the usa for the foreseeable future.

And in these emails, stories of weird and inconsistent customs charges starting in march of this year.

Example

Farthingales is located in Canada. We have been able to ship into the USA for over 26 years without any issues and most packages have arrived to American customers Duty Free. Since February of this year this has not been the case, it's been "hit & miss", with most shipments not seeing Duty or Taxes required upon delivery, but some have.

...

One customer in the US placed an order for $137 worth of product and was charged $77 in fees in order to receive their package. I have no way to know what the $77 was for, but I assume a combination of StateTax/Duty/Brokerage. Were the amount smallish...say $20 I would not be as concerned, but over 50% is a problem.

If they didn't say specifically they were shipping with the postal service, I would say that level of fees sound like UPS has been charging for years in cross border orders.

There is no information on how the customs stuff is to be paid yet or how to indicate on the package it has.  Europe has a system in place, but it's woefully difficult, especially when sending gifts.

following along with nothing really to contribute except to say the words used above, 'weird and inconsistent', are the best 'nice' description of the last six months or so in this country...I wouldn't count on anything....and I believe that is the intent 🫤