Some Local Businesses Optimistic, Others Calling It Quits As Duty-free U.S. Shipping Ends

Read more: Found here

The de minimis exemption for cross-border shipments to the United States ended Friday, and London-area small businesses with American customers are concerned what it could mean for their sales.

Those shipments will now be subject to duties of up to $200 US, depending on the country of origin, and Canadian small businesses with American customers will be smacked with extra costs that eat into their profits.

For Daniel Phillips, owner of the London-based clothing shop Illbury and Goose, the ups and downs of US trade this year have been challenging to keep up with.

⁘With these things actually being in place now, it's kind of a learning curve every day,⁘ he said. ⁘We've got to think on our toes and be nimble and see what we can do.⁘ 

While U.S. customers are not their main base, some products sell pretty well there, like t-shirts and hoodies, and lately the store has been getting a lot of U.S. orders for their soap products, Phillips said.

⁘Hopefully there are customers who are loyal there and are going to still want the product or still be able to get it,⁘ he said. ⁘If they want to keep purchasing, it's just that extra little fee. It's kind of the way the world's going right now, right?⁘ 

Others businesses are not so optimistic. Pierre Oliver is the owner of Yarmouth Model Works, a model train manufacturer in St. Thomas, and 95 per cent of his roughly 5,000 customers are based in the U.S.