Cross-border shopping costing more for travellers amid trade war

Canadians who buy products in the United States will be subject to a 25 per cent surtax.

The next time you plan to hop over to the United States to do some shopping, be prepared for some extra charges upon returning to Canada.

The Canadian government has implemented a 25 per cent surtax on the majority of goods once they are brought back into Canada. That includes groceries and clothing on top of numerous other items

The move was made in response to the United States’ imposition of tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. from Canada.

“When travelers return to Canada with goods that they’ve purchased or acquired outside of Canada, the requirement to pay duties and taxes on the value of the goods that they have over their personal exemption still applies,” says Vérnoic Horne, Chief of Operations for Canada Border Services Agency’s Atlantic region. “What’s changed since March 4 is that certain goods that are originating from the US are now also subject to a tax of 25 per cent.”

The surtax applies to all travellers and cross-border shoppers, as well as packages that have to cross over the border. Gas is exempt from the surtax assuming you are directly pumping your vehicle. Fuel pumped into a jerry can will be subject to the surtax.

In simple terms, if one spends $100 on groceries in Maine, they will have to pay an additional $25 on top of that once it is brought back into Canada.

“There’s a lot of individuals also stopping before going into the United States to ask the question,” Horne notes. “But we still are getting some surprises that when they’re coming back and they’re having to pay a certain amount of dollars on goods that normally they wouldn’t have necessarily paid duties and taxes on.”

Horne says the border along the St. Croix River has been quieter since the tariff talk began.

She advises residents coming back into Canada after shopping to take a close look at the list of goods subject to the 25 per cent surtax before arriving at the border crossing to make the process as seamless as possible for both you and Canadian border agents.