Canada Post will use third-party duty processor after U.S. de minimis expires

Rachel Aiello reports on how the U.S. removal of the de minimis exemption could hit Canadian small businesses with higher shipping costs.

With the U.S. de minimis duty exemption soon to expire, Canada Post says that it will be on-boarding a third-party technology provider to help ensure shipments “continue moving smoothly across the border.”

Starting Aug. 29, packages of US$800 or less shipped to the United States will no longer be duty-free, meaning major changes in fees for a wide swath of cross-border mail.

In the wake of the announcement, postal carriers in more than 25 countries have announced they will be suspending service to the United States, and some small businesses owners in Canada have likewise paused their orders to U.S. customers amid a scramble to prepare for new shipping fees.

• READ MORE: U.S. import duty exemptions are ending. Is your business affected?

“Canada Post has worked to secure the necessary solutions to maintain business continuity for our customers,” the carrier wrote in an emailed statement to CTV News Wednesday.

The postal service says it has partnered with Zonos, a processing system that will “collect duties and remit them directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

Canada Post says that for most goods, that new duty will be the 35 per cent tariff imposed on Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year. The carrier notes that “documents and gifts under US$100” will not be subject to the duty, so long as they are sent by individual Canadians, not businesses.

“We will continue to share more details to help ensure our customers and Canadians are prepared for the new U.S. requirements,” the statement reads.