U.S. import duty exemptions are ending. Is your business affected?

Trucks navigate along stacks of containers at the Manila North Harbour Port in Manila, Philippines on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

As the trade war between Canada and the United States marches on, new changes to U.S. shipping tariffs are sparking concerns for small business owners across the country.

Aug. 28 is the last day of the de minimis exemption, which allows packages worth US$800 or less to ship into the United States without import duties. Once that expires, shipping costs are primed to soar.

The White House has called de minimis a "catastrophic loophole" used to “evade tariffs” and to “funnel deadly synthetic opioids” into the United States.

In removing the exemption, a July release says U.S. President Donald Trump is “delivering on his promise to ‘put an end’ to the ‘big scam’ of de minimis shipments killing Americans and hurting U.S. businesses.”

Meanwhile, some Canadian business owners have paused orders from U.S. customers as they scramble to meet rising shipping fees, and postal services in at least 25 countries have announced they will suspend or restrict U.S. package deliveries, including in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, India, Australia and Japan.

Is the end of de minimis exemptions affecting you? Do you own a small business that will be impacted by the new import duties? Have you taken steps to suspend shipments to the United States?

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