Deminimus IS going down on Tuesday

[fergua3]

Still no official details on what level it is going to be at or whether it is going to be set at zero.  But it is going to change and probably drop significantly as of Tuesday.

Seems like our lives are all about to change substantially.  Not talking about our Ebay lives, i'm talking about our Canadian lives.  If you read the official statements coming from the White House, Canada has now been classified as a threat to the national security of the US.   If we retaliate to the tariffs coming on Tuesday, additional tariffs will be levied on Canada by Trump (this may not matter much because apparently the 25% coming on Tuesday will pretty much shut down all industry doing business with the US).

[reallynicestamps]

@intimewithmusic 

It is easy to see what is in a store that doesn't ship to Canada just by changing your location to one in the USA.

I use 90210 as a postalcode for the USA, and the Parliament Buildings for other countries.

[john_koenig99]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

@ brie-5065

now I'm changing my shipping to exclude the US because I will not pay a nickel for a tariff by that idiot.

You don't.

Your customers do.

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Clearly, but it's a matter of taking a stance. They elected that idjit, they can suffer the consequences.

In fact, we are all going to suffer them, one way or another. 

[phc64]

I ain't no genius, but it is my understanding that Trump's executive order places tariffs on 'products of Canada'; that is, products produced in Canada. The tariff does not apply to products Canadian sellers ship to buyers in the US that were not produced in Canada. Or am I even less of a genius than I thought?

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

This is something I wonder about as well. 

I still think it won't matter because from a marketing POV US buyers will outright assume any item purchased from Canada will result paying a substantial tariff and possibly brokerage fee.

So even if your product is exempt, unless you have a dedicated pool of repeat buyers that you can actively market that fact to, I think it will be difficult to convey that message to future buyers. 

[flipistics]

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@phc64 wrote:

I ain't no genius, but it is my understanding that Trump's executive order places tariffs on 'products of Canada'; that is, products produced in Canada. The tariff does not apply to products Canadian sellers ship to buyers in the US that were not produced in Canada. Or am I even less of a genius than I thought?

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That *appears* to be the case, but hopefully we'll have full clarity on Tuesday.  Keep in mind though that China was also hit by tariffs and (presumably) the elimination of the de minimis. I don't have a whole lot of "Made in Canada" items in my store, but I certainly have a lot of "Made in China" items.

[mrdutch1001]

Will let you know the outcome of a couple of pkgs that I am putting into the mail tomorrow, destined for the USA.

[intimewithmusic]

Shrewd. Sounds like espionage to me. 😉

I use the postal code for KFC. It's amazing how close you can get almost anywhere on the planet if you look for a bucket of fried chicken.🐔🍗

[dinomitesales]

Here is the official Executive Order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-duties-to-address-the-flow-of-illic...

It does indeed specify the tariff applies to "All articles that are products of Canada" - so taking that at face value, as long as we are sending things that aren't manufactured in Canada (or Mexico or China, although the Executive Orders against those countries haven't been released and we don't know officially what will happen), there shouldn't be any tariffs charged. That being said, it would also indicate that any Canadian-made product being sent to the States from any country on Earth would also be susceptible to a 25% tariff.

But this is still so early we don't really know exactly how any of this is going to work. How are they actually going to enforce this? Is there an official list of products or HS codes that are included? How is the tariff going to be calculated (at delivery, or forced upon the sender to collect/remit)? What's stopping people from just indicating on their customs declaration that the product wasn't made in Canada (they don't have the manpower to open every package and double check)?

Canada Post is probably freaking out right now - there is currently no rule that requires the country of origin or HS code to be included for products being exported through Canada Post. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Canada Post just shuts off the abillity for anything to be sent to the U.S. until things have been clarified or changes to their software have been implemented.

[mrdutch1001]

Sellers are NOT responsible for collecting tariffs; eBay is NOT responsible for collecting tariffs>Tariffs are collected on the Buyer's side/the Importer's side....

[dinomitesales]

@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Sellers are NOT responsible for collecting tariffs; eBay is NOT responsible for collecting tariffs>Tariffs are collected on the Buyer's side/the Importer's side....

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I didn't say that sellers are responsible for collecting tariffs. I'm fully aware how tariffs work.

I assume you're referring to the line where I said "How is the tariff going to be calculated (at delivery, or forced upon the sender to collect/remit)?"

When I say "sender" I mean the platform like eBay or Etsy or AliExpress or Shopify or whathaveyou. It's up to them whether or not they choose to collect these tariffs to help out their buyers and provide them an "up front cost" at checkout vs a potential surprise upon delivery. Can they implement something like this? Sure, probably. Will they? Who knows. Will the American government force them to in order to avoid headaches at US CBP? Also, who knows. We don't know anything at this point.

[snoopwiz]

I am one of those who rely on the US. Can you offer any advice on how to re-open Germany? When the packing rules excluded small sellers like myself we lost a very good market. Do you think there's an economical way for us to get that back at least for ephemera??

I never stopped shipping to Germany. As of this date, the "packing rules" have been a nothing-burger. I ship using simple manila envelopes (for my paper products) and small boxes (for my turntable parts).  I have not paid anything to join anything. The German customers I have asked have all said I should keep shipping as the government had put the whole thing on the back burner for now. Perhaps at least until they figure it out themselves?  Either way, even more so now. I will continue shipping to Germany. 

[sin-n-dex]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Will let you know the outcome of a couple of pkgs that I am putting into the mail tomorrow, destined for the USA.

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I have one to mail (maybe tomorrow if the buyer pays me tonight or tomorrow morning), and I can update the group on what's happened. My package is going with Stallion Express, unless they refuse to take it, then I'll try Canada Post.

I expect there to be a backlog of packages very quickly at the border, which is one reason I opted to stop shipping for right now, I'm afraid of accruing INRs as a result of packages taking a long time to clear customs.

C.

[intimewithmusic]

Thank you for the news.  Trying not to raise flags and keep the packaging generic. That's sort of what I was expecting.  

Much appreciated!

[byto253]

Do you use plastic tape for German packages or do you have paper tape?

[marksantique]

From Dentons.com

Goods from Canada will no longer benefit from the duty-free treatment under the US de minimis (below $800) value threshold and duty drawback will no longer be available for tariffs paid on goods imported from Canada.

[byto253]

Note that the order pertains to products of Canada, not shipped from Canada. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-duties-to-address-the-flow-of-illic...

All articles that are products of Canada as defined by the Federal Register notice described in subsection (e) of this section (Federal Register notice), and except for those products described in subsection (b) of this section, shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty.

[fergua3]

i wouldn't count on an item made in China or Germany or wherever getting through US Customs.  A product shipped from Canada is a product of Canada at that point.  US Customs offficers are not going to be opening every package, turning the item upside down to see what country it was made in.  If it comes from Canada it will face tariffs. 

One could travel down to the US and challenge it in court but US courts are not exactly unbiased these days.

[byto253]

Country of origin has always been the deteriminant for customs, as in the case of the USMC and NAFTA it had to be a product of the US, Canada or Mexico to qualify.  Shipment of goods made in other countries were subject to duties.    Just because a product was shipped from a country did not turn it into a product of that country.  

This is an area that needs to be flushed out but I would not dismiss it yet.  I would assume that this a major point fot Chitchats, Stallion, et al as it will have a huge impact on them. 

[fergua3]

i take your point but i just don't see how it's possible, logistically, to assess tariffs based on where the item was made.  And knowing the Trumpies, they will just assess every item coming from Canada with tariffs.  They don't seem too concerned about legality or letter of the law.....if they were these tariffs wouldn't be happening at all.  They are illegal and a violation of the USMCA that Trump himself negotiated and approved 5 years ago.

[cottagewoman]

What I find absolutely troubling is, to date, there is no indication of the status of de minimis for Mexico and China - only Canada has been singled out as having it terminated. The bulk of pre-cursor fentanyl chemicals using de minimis as cover come via China. This level of force applied to Canada is crippling.