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Tariffs & shipping info updates for our members
We round up the latest updates for our members so you can see what's going on with tariffs and de minimis at a glance
Our guide to tariffs is comprehensive, so we've put together a running update of quick summaries specifically for our members to get the latest information. Here’s what’s been going on with shipping/importing/exporting to and from the U.S.
Note this thread was retired after Aug. 29, 2025. You can find the latest updates in our tariffs guide.
Update Aug. 29, 2025
De minimis has ended. Goods under US$800 will now receive tariffs and/or duties depending on how they are shipped.
Canada Post has a DDP option available. Get the link here. DDP also available via Stallion and ChitChats. Manufacturer information is required for DDP, so if you don’t have that, you can try an express carrier (or continue to pause shipping to the U.S. until your selling platform allows for collection at checkout.
Postal shipments sent through Canada Post are only subject to the IEEPA percentage tariffs, not additional duties.
EARLIER UPDATES
Update Aug. 22, 2025
Canada Post announced it will have a DDP service available on Aug. 29. DDU through Canada Post, ChitChats and Stallion will no longer be able to enter the U.S.
Update Aug. 18, 2025
Further guidance published late Friday from U.S. clarifies duty will be pre-paid and that postal shipments will receive tariffs.
Update Aug. 8, 2025
Tariffs for made-in-Canada goods over US$800 are now 35 per cent instead of 25 per cent.
De minimis — the exemption that allows all your items valued at or under US$800 to arrive to the U.S. duty free — will be removed for all packages on Aug. 29, and those duties will need to be pre-paid. Mail shipments will still be able to go through under delivery duty unpaid until an unspecified date.
Arriving via express carrier (UPS, DHL, etc.): As of Aug. 29, packages will receive a tariff equivalent to whatever tariff has been assigned to their country of origin, plus any applicable existing duties. For items made in Canada, that will be 35 per cent. Option available for buyer to pay duties.
Arriving via transportation carrier using the international postal network (Canada Post, ChitChats DDP, Stallion Express DDP etc.): As of Aug. 29, most packages will receive a tariff equivalent to the rate set out for their country of origin.
However, for a period of six months until Feb. 28, 2026, some packages will receive a different duty of US$80 to US$200 per item, depending on where they come from. That’s a sliding scale depending on tariff rate of the country — for made-in-Canada items it’s $200. It’s unlikely carriers will apply the flat fee — sounds like ChitChats and Stallion will both do the %.
The appeals court has not yet delivered a decision on whether or not any of this is legal.
Update May 29, 2025
A judging panel ruled most of the tariffs are illegal and ordered the U.S. government to lift them within 10 days.
This includes the 25 per cent tariff on many Canada and Mexico goods, the 30 per cent “fentanyl” one on China and the 10 per cent on most other countries. But U.S. government filed an appeal and won for the moment, so things remain the same. Tariffs continue to be in play.
Update May 15, 2025
The U.S. and China have agreed to a temporary deal, reducing tariffs for made in China goods entering the U.S. for 90 days.
Here is the summary:
➡️ U.S. tariffs on goods made in China, Hong Kong or Macau valued over US$800 are 30 per cent, plus any applicable existing duties from before the trade war.
➡️ U.S. tariffs on goods made in China, Hong Kong or Macau valued under US$800 arriving via courier are also subject to duties of 30 per cent.
➡️ U.S. tariffs on goods made in China, Hong Kong or Macau valued under US$800 arriving via international mail (postal) are subject to a 54 per cent tariff and $100 flat fee.
Everything else is status quo:
➡️ No tariffs for goods valued at or under US$800 from any other country including Canada and Mexico
➡️ Tariffs of 25 per cent for goods valued over US$800 from Canada and Mexico that are not CUSMA-compliant
➡️ No tariffs for goods valued over US$800 from Canada and Mexico that are CUSMA-compliant
➡️ Tariffs of 10 per cent on pretty much every other country for goods over US$800
ChitChats and Stallion are reporting that entire trucks are being turned around if COO is missing on packages, so do make sure to include it no matter what the COO is!
You may have heard in your internet travels that a ruling came down a few weeks ago about a wholesaler importing used donated clothing that it could be claimed as Made in Canada, and I’m trying to verify if it would be extended in other scenarios.
Update May 2, 2025
Here’s where everything stands right now:
➡️ De minimis has been removed for products originating in China and Hong Kong.
➡️ U.S. tariffs on ALL goods made in China and made in Hong Kong and shipped via courier are now 145 per cent plus any applicable existing duties.
➡️ U.S. tariffs on ALL goods made in China and made in Hong Kong and shipped via international postal (mail): a duty of 120% of their value or $100 per item, increasing to $200 per item after June 1 (it depends on the item whether it gets charged the percentage or the dollar amount). This replaces any other previous duties announced on China- or Hong Kong-made imports.
➡️ No tariffs for goods valued at or under US$800 from any other country including Canada and Mexico
➡️ Tariffs of 25 per cent for goods valued over US$800 from Canada and Mexico that are not CUSMA-compliant
➡️ No tariffs for goods valued over US$800 from Canada and Mexico that are CUSMA-compliant
➡️ Tariffs of 10 per cent on pretty much every other country for goods over US$800
Update Apr. 11, 2025
U.S. tariffs on goods made in China and made in Hong Kong are now 145 per cent. For now, this only applies to goods over US$800. On May 2, it will be applied to all goods under US$800 shipped via courier. Anything coming by mail has different rules (see below).
De minimis is being removed for imports from China or Hong Kong valued at or under US$800 as of May 2 in favour of either:
If the item is arriving via courier, the item is subjected to all applicable duties and China/Hong Kong tariffs announced earlier this year.
If the item is via international postal (mail), a duty of 120% of their value or $100 per item, increasing to $200 per item after June 1 (it depends on the item whether it gets charged the percentage or the dollar amount). This replaces any other previous duties announced on China- or Hong Kong-made imports.
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Continued from above
Update Apr. 9, 2025
U.S. tariffs on goods made in China and made in Hong Kong became 125 per cent.
“Reciprocal tariffs” on imports from 90 countries ranging from 11 to 49 per cent have been paused for 90 days.
Imports from more than 180 countries are still receiving a tariff of 10 per cent. Anything from a country that was on the “reciprocal” list is now being tariffed at 10 per cent.
Canada and Mexico, no change. Still being tariffed at 25 per cent unless you can prove USMCA compliance. That’s for goods valued over US$800 — de minimis is still in play for everywhere except China/Hong Kong (as of May 2).
Update Apr. 3, 2025 (updated again to reflect new rates, Apr 11)
De minimis is being removed for imports from China or Hong Kong valued at or under US$800 as of May 2 in favour of either:
If the item is arriving via courier, the item is subjected to all applicable duties and China/Hong Kong tariffs announced earlier this year.
If the item is via international postal (mail), a duty of 120% of their value or $100 per item, increasing to $200 per item after June 1 (it depends on the item whether it gets charged the percentage or the dollar amount). This replaces any other previous duties announced on China- or Hong Kong-made imports.
Stallion Express (courier)’s customs agents have confirmed that this will apply to goods made in China even if shipped from Canada.
In addition, tariffs have been announced on many other countries for goods valued over US$800. The baseline amount is 10 per cent, ranging up to 49 per cent. This is going to apply to country of origin again, so if you are shipping something valued over US$800 made in Portugal, for example, it will receive a tariff of 20 per cent because it’s in the European Union.
Here’s an easy-to-read list of countries and their rates: https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/trumps-tariffs/article/here-is-the-full-list-of-countries-affected-by-trumps-reciprocal-tariffs/
The White House also announced that while de minimis remains for these other countries, it will ultimately be removed. The way the executive order is written, that may not include goods originating in Canada and Mexico, but it does have a big impact if you are shipping goods from any of the countries on their list.
Update Apr. 2, 2025
The announcement today has not given any clarity on what is happening with tariffs on Canada as it pertains to our sector. No word on de minimis. President Trump indicated more information would come tomorrow (Apr. 3) so we will wait for that.
Update Mar 27, 2025
The U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency has stated that Section 321 (de minimis) shipments not destined for customers in the U.S. will no longer be allowed to enter the country.
If you are using a courier service like Stallion Express to send international parcels that route through the U.S. using APC or USPS for international parcels, you won’t be able to send those anymore. Use PostNL instead.
We may know more about the fate of de minimis next week, stay tuned.
Update Mar 6-7, 2025
Tariffs now lifted for “CUSMA/USMCA-compliant” products, for one month until April 2. This means some documentation is still needed to avoid tariffs.
If the item is under US$800, you don’t need to do anything. No tariffs.
If your item is over US$800 and below US$2,500 and you want to claim USMCA compliance for items made in Canada, Mexico or the U.S., you need a written statement certifying the origin of the product. This means you need to be able to prove, if asked, where that item was manufactured.
If your item is over US$2,500, you need a full certificate of origin to show that it was made in Canada, Mexico or the U.S. in order to claim it as USMCA compliant and avoid a tariff.
If your item is over US$800 and made in Canada or Mexico but you can’t prove that, it will get hit with the tariff.
I am sending out some media requests for comment from customs brokers just to try to triple confirm all this for vintage/secondhand — we will see if I hear back. But everything I’ve found has been sourced from government and customs broker sites.
Full breakdown of everything available on the site: https://www.thevintageseeker.ca/magazine/how-the-canada-u-s-tariffs-could-impact-the-secondhand-market
Update Mar 4, 2025
Tariffs are now in effect between Canada and the U.S. 25% on many goods from Canada to the U.S. though not everything — I am working through the HTS info this week.
In the U.S., the 25 per cent tariffed items are "products of" Canada and Mexico for shipments valued over US$800. There’s also 20 per cent tariffed items that are "products of" China and Hong Kong, for shipments valued over US$800.
De minimis still in effect so as long as you are shipping under US$800 from Canada to U.S., business as usual. Include HTS codes and country of origin as you have been doing!
In Canada, retaliatory tariffs (surtax) of 25 per cent also in effect on some items that originate in the U.S., including clothing, jewellery and more.
The surtax will apply even when the item has been exported from a country other than the U.S. into Canada. Need to confirm if Canadian de minimis of CA$150 is still in play too — can’t find it anywhere at the moment.
Update Mar 3, 2025
This afternoon President Trump confirmed 25% tariffs will go into effect March 4. We will assume at this point that he is not bluffing, but I will keep you updated if I find out more.
The White House released an amendment to the original executive order late Sunday to clarify that the de minimis threshold will remain in place when tariffs go through, but only for a limited time until officials indicate they have the processes in place to collect the duties.
This means that your packages under US$800 will still be able to ship for the time being. There is no indication of when they will be removing the de minimis.
Here’s the amendment: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/amendment-to-duties-to-address-the-flow-of-illicit-drugs-across-our-northern-border/
Update Feb. 28, 2025
President Trump has confirmed the tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go ahead as scheduled on March 4 when the pause is over. There was some confusion on Feb. 26 that the deadline might be April 2 but he mixed up his dates while speaking and as it stands now, it’s still March 4 for Canada and Mexico.
This may be a negotiation tactic but it is probably best to assume it will happen at this point, and hope for the amounts to be lower. Fingers crossed something changes before then.
On Feb. 28 Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated that Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs should the U.S. proceed with its plan.
There is not currently information available on whether or not de minimis will be impacted.
RELEVANT LINKS
U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule - Revision 2
What are Harmonized System (HS) Codes
https://www.trade.gov/harmonized-system-hs-codes
U.S. Census Bureau Schedule B for Harmonized System (HS) codes
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/index.html
Canada Post HS Code Tracker
https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/information/app/wtz/business/findHsCode?execution=e1s1
Canada Border Services Agency tariff schedule
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/menu-eng.html
U.S. White House “fact sheet” on tariffs
Canada retaliatory tariffs (surtax) list of products
Canada customs notice on surtaxes effective Mar. 4, 2025
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn25-10-eng.html
Marketplace updates Mar. 4, 2025
Etsy has released some guidance for sellers.
Shipping updates Mar. 4, 2025
ChitChats and Stallion Express (likely other couriers too) offer Canada Post DDU (Delivery Duty Unpaid) so shipments will still reach U.S. customers.
With tariffs, duties & taxes are paid by the recipient upon delivery. If tariffs are not implemented, no additional duties or taxes will be charged to the customer.
There’s a full explanation of what DDU means here, as well as an explanation of DDP (Delivery Duty Paid) for when it’s available.
ChitChats updates: https://chitchats.com/blog/president-trumps-tariffs-on-canada-and-e-commerce
StallionExpress updates: https://stallionexpress.ca/2025-us-tariffs-live-updates/
Shipments to and from Canada and the U.S.
Tariffs are in effect, but the de minimis exemption remains for Canadian sellers shipping to the United States. This means you can send packages valued under US$800 until further notice.
However you do still need to note country of origin and the 10-digit HTS code on ANY packages, even those outside of China/Hong Kong.
Items made in China or Hong Kong
As of Feb, 7, Trump has paused the de minimis exemption of $800 for items from China or Hong Kong because of volume of packages.
This means you are free to ship items from China or Hong Kong without being subject to tariffs if the goods are valued under US$800. If the shipments are valued over that amount, it’s a 20% tariff.
You must still declare country of origin (COO) and HTS 10 digit code on these shipments.
Shipments originating outside Canada or the U.S. going into the U.S.
Note country of origin and the 10-digit HTS code on all packages.
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