What will Canada Post implement for tariff collection on August 29?

[cottagewoman]

10 days away. No announcement from Canada Post, nothing from eBay Canada. Just a few rumors on some other conversations. Anybody listening? ? A Canadian reseller FB group has a contact in eBay Canada - as of 4 days ago they have no clue either.

There will best no more 'duty paid' by the buyer, collected by US CBP or USPS. All duty must be prepaid before any package arrives in the US, yes even if sent via Canada Post. Just to get that answer off the table.

[38e_avenue]

I posed the same question to our post office manager today. His answer was: "I have no idea, what are you talking about". 

[musicyouneed]

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@cottagewoman wrote:

There will best no more 'duty paid' by the buyer, collected by US CBP or USPS. All duty must be prepaid before any package arrives in the US, yes even if sent via Canada Post. Just to get that answer off the table.

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Where did you get that information about Canada Post mail?

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

If Canada Post hasn't said anything, I assume that they have no pending solution and there might be a reasonable chance that they either won't accept US packages, or they will accept them and there will be a high risk of return to sender (ala China COI packages). 

I've mentioned this in other posts, but my cutoff for US packages is going to be Monday morning. That will give them 4 days to get through customs to be in transit in the USA with USPS. I don't think I've ever seen a package take more than 2-3 days to get through the Montreal to New York customs route. Duties are assessed by customs, not by USPS, USPS only collects them (which they claim they cannot do). So my theory is that if a package is already cleared and in transit with USPS by the end of the 28th, I shouldn't have to worry about return to sender.

Unless you have major cash flow issues to the point where you can't survive a week without shipping to the US, I think that it would be advisable for anybody using Canada Post to prepare themselves to block US orders for at least a week or so while we wait to see what the outcome is for those who send with Canada Post. This is assuming that we don't receive concrete information from Canada Post prior to the 29th.

If you ask me to make a prediction about what will happen, Canada Post will cease taking US parcels for the time being. With the strike and all the other issues, are they really going to develop a DDP system essentially overnight when the future of the company is uncertain?

[cottagewoman]

Via the documentation released by CBP on August 15 2025, designating procedures for packages arriving by international mail systems after August 29 2025. I posted the link on other threads.

[cottagewoman]

I agree 100% - I don't think they'll have any mechanism in place to collect duties, either ad valorem or the 80/160/200 flat rate system.

[musicyouneed]

I just can't see Canada Post getting involved in collecting tariffs. 

So Canada Post is going to have to determine the tariff rate for different COO.  If I ship a CD made in West Germany, wouldn't the tariff rate be different from one made in Japan.  What about CD's that are made in Canada and may be covered by CUSMA.  Or what about the CD's made in the US? How is Canada Post going to verify this.  Is Canada Post going to be responsible if people lie about the COO.  I think it is going to be a mess any way you look at it.  I might just put myself on time away for a while.

[flipistics]

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@musicyouneed wrote:

I just can't see Canada Post getting involved in collecting tariffs. 

So Canada Post is going to have to determine the tariff rate for different COO.  If I ship a CD made in West Germany, wouldn't the tariff rate be different from one made in Japan.  What about CD's that are made in Canada and may be covered by CUSMA.  Or what about the CD's made in the US? How is Canada Post going to verify this.  Is Canada Post going to be responsible if people lie about the COO.  I think it is going to be a mess any way you look at it.  I might just put myself on time away for a while.

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Canada Post probably wouldn't verify anything. They'd have you state that the information you provide is accurate, and if the border agents decide otherwise they'd levy a hefty fine which CP would pass on to the person shipping the item.

I do wonder if they might just turn shipping to the USA off completely.  I think Purolator bought a company a year or so ago that deals specifically with this, so they might push people in that direction.

[fergua3]

Which highlights another problem for CP.  How do they collect the fine from the person who sent the package?   If the sender refuses to pay them CP would have to sue them in court?  What a mess that would be.

This whole situation, if it plays out the way we think it might, will be untenable and CP may have to refuse delivery to the US

[phc64]

As far as I know, the only foreign post office that expects to have the necessary system in place to collect tariffs and remit them to the US customs authorities is the Royal Mail in the UK. A number of European countries have long had agreements for their postal services to collect each other's VAT sales taxes, but I do not believe that Canada Post has ever collected any foreign country's tariffs or taxes. We can't expect Canada Post to go through the considerable expense and effort required to establish such a system at a time when US tariff policies are constantly being modified. And I can't expect Diane at my local rural post office to suddenly become an expert in US tariff regulations.

Yesterday someone posted on Discogs (a record/CD selling site) that the Dutch post office is already saying that they will stop accepting US-bound parcels (but I have not been able to verify this).

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@fergua3 wrote:

Which highlights another problem for CP.  How do they collect the fine from the person who sent the package?   If the sender refuses to pay them CP would have to sue them in court?  What a mess that would be.

This whole situation, if it plays out the way we think it might, will be untenable and CP may have to refuse delivery to the US

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As it is this will be a giant nightmare for almost any size business, small or large along with anyone that just drops in the red box. Can you imagine for someone sending a small gift to a family member? I guess 1 way to cut down the number of incoming parcels to the USA in 1  very sad fell swoop!!!

[joels-retrocade]

I'm of course hoping nothing will happen and it will be business as usual lol.  Altough it would be entertaining to see what happens if all these places just stop accepting mail to the US.  That would be chaos and I'd have to assume it wouldnt take long for the americans to fold

[phc64]

From Reuters:

Nordic postal operators pause shipments to US as Trump ends parcel tariff relief

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Norwegian and Swedish-Danish postal groups Posten Bring and PostNord are pausing parcel shipments to the United States ahead of the scrapping of a U.S. customs tax loophole that allows duty-free entry for low-value packages, they said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said last month it would suspend the global "de minimis" exemption, which also allows minimal paperwork, for international shipments under $800 effective August 29.

"Due to the short timeframe to adapt to the new requirements, PostNord is temporarily halting shipments," the company owned by the Swedish and Danish governments said in a statement.

The twists and turns in Trump's tariff policies have roiled global financial markets.

Under the executive order suspending the "de minimis" exemption, low-value packages sent to the U.S. will face "all applicable duties", according to the White House.

"The details surrounding this have not yet been clarified by the U.S. customs authorities, and no system solutions have been developed that postal companies can use," Norway's state-owned Posten Bring said in a separate statement.

It said postal companies in Europe were working together to gain clarity.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik and Alex Richardson)

[38e_avenue]

Unfortunately/fortunately I have to go to Europe unexpectedly on Aug 26. My store will be closed for 3 weeks - so guys you have 3 weeks to fix the problem and find a reasonable solution.  [just kidding 😁]

I will check this forum every day! 

Here is a good news for all ChitChats customers. I got this from them yesterday:  

"Thank you for reaching out to Chit Chats.

We only offer DDP services to the U.S. for goods originating from China, Macau, and Hong Kong only.

We can still enter the U.S. tax and duty-free for goods from other countries as of today, but on August 29, we are planning on rolling out the needed changes to support DDP shipping for those items."

[videotimeplus]

The sender has to pay the tariff? I thought the recipient pays the tariff like how it always worked, or did I miss something? Im so confused... 

[rdemaree]

DJT and his goons are attempting to force other countries and companies to pay the tariffs.

He’s not very bright because most companies will just pass the cost onto the consumer.

Keep in mind these tariffs are all illegal to begin with and in court currently and likely to either be struck down or at the very least watered down.

Nobody knows what’s really going on and it all will for sure change, especially when his tariffs are struck down in court.

It is a giant mess but you can’t expect much from a literal bankrupt criminal conspiracy theorist conman. And those aren’t my opinions about him, I’m literally just objectively describing who he is and what he is.

[reallynicestamps]

Canada Post have been collecting Canadian duty and sales taxes for decades.

They charge the importer $9.95 service charge at delivery.

The importer either pays or does not get their package.

The tariffs are another question.

Canada has put some "retaliatory" tariffs on some US products.

But most of those are on industrial scale imports.

So we are asking if Canada Post will be collecting US tariffs on exported goods?
Why would they?
It is not  Canada's job to collect foreign taxes.

It is possible that USPS* may be collecting import fees (including state sales taxes and tariffs) but they would NOT be deciding how much that should be.

That is the job of US Customs.

My takeaway is:
IT IS NOT THE JOB OF CANADA OR ANY CANADIAN GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO COLLECT FOREIGN TAXES.

*Couriers might, because they have a mechanism in place to do so and charge substantial fees for the service.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@rdemaree wrote:
DJT and his goons are attempting to force other countries and companies to pay the tariffs.

He’s not very bright because most companies will just pass the cost onto the consumer.

Keep in mind these tariffs are all illegal to begin with and in court currently and likely to either be struck down or at the very least watered down.

Nobody knows what’s really going on and it all will for sure change, especially when his tariffs are struck down in court.

It is a giant mess but you can’t expect much from a literal bankrupt criminal conspiracy theorist conman. And those aren’t my opinions about him, I’m literally just objectively describing who he is and what he is.

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@rdemaree 

My guess DJT in his long & spoiled life on this planet has never actually gone into a post office to send.......anything....so has zero grasp of the inner workings of how import and export .... the getting something from A to B and how things are "supposed" to work. What is the tradeoff?  We get his baffling reality of how he thinks should work!!! Added cost and challenges be darned!!!

[flipistics]

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@fergua3 wrote:

Which highlights another problem for CP.  How do they collect the fine from the person who sent the package?   If the sender refuses to pay them CP would have to sue them in court?  What a mess that would be.

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Probably the same way other couriers handle it. I would assume Purolator has experience with it at least.

[rdemaree]

Yeah longterm things will correct to a more normal and easier to handle situation but in the short term it will be chaos.

A trump second term was never going to go well for anyone. He got fired for a reason and lost 2 popular votes in a row and barely squeaked out a plurality this time around.

I know it’s easier said than done but with patience things will settle into something more manageable. I just wish this chaos wasn’t happening as we go into 4th quarter.

I’ve already mentally coached myself to essentially say I’ll lose 2000-4000 $ from now until the end of the year due to all of the instability. I am actively seeking Canadian brick and mortars to carry my product and will focus on expanding my international reach as well. I’ve got my work cut out for me that’s for sure.

I’m hoping once the dust settles I’ll be at 40% Canadian customers, 20% international, 40% American

Currently it’s 15% Canadian, 15% international, 70% USA

I start my first Canadian brick and mortar next month and intend on expanding my product into more and will try and shore up more international buyers too particularly the UK. I need to balance my customer base more that’s for sure. A national Canadian trend in trade tbh