Tariffs

What’s changing on August 29, 2025?

The United States is eliminating the de minimis exemption for imports under $800. As of August 29, all shipments to the USA must go through U.S. customs clearance and may be subject to duties and processing fees, regardless of their value or country of origin.

All duties or fees owed under U.S. imposed tariffs are the sole responsibility of the customer to pay.

Will I pay duties or fees when ordering from Zipperloft (Canada)?

It depends on the product:

  • The Canada-US-Mexico (CUSMA) free trade agreement governs the tax-free entry of goods between member countries.
  • CUSMA-compliant products (e.g., most YKK zippers) remain duty-free, but still require customs clearance at the U.S border.
  • YKK EVERBRIGHT zippers (made in Japan) may incur a tariff.
  • Non-CUSMA products and the YKK Colour Guide (printed in China) will incur the tariff imposed by the U.S.A. on Chinese goods.

CUSMA certification is underway for our compliant items, and is expected to be ready around October 1.

How are duties and fees handled for U.S. orders?

Zipperloft uses Duties Due Paid (DDP) shipping labels for U.S. orders, where:

  • Duties and fees are calculated based on the item’s HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) code.
  • The tariff amount is shown at checkout and included in the total owing for an order shown there.  There are no additional charges.
  • Broker and U.S. Customs services fees will apply, regardless of CUSMA status.

What kinds of additional fees should I expect?

Even if no duties apply, U.S. customers should expect the Tariff/Fees line at checkout will reflect:

  • A merchandise processing fee imposed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for 'informal entries'.
  • An item processing fee imposed by the broker to process the individual HTS coded items in the shipment.

Why does checkout show a charge for duties on tariff-free shipments under the (Canada-US-Mexico CUSMA) agreement?

While no tariff is owed on CUSMA-certified goods, with the end of the $800 de minimis exemption in the U.S.A. every parcel must go through a brokerage and be handled by US Customs.  As a result, a charge is now levied on every U.S. order based on fees set by those organizations, for services rendered. This is charged even if no tariff is owed.  This is a flat rate from the broker, and a per-item charge from U.S. customs.

Will there be shipping delays?

U.S. destined shipments are experiencing a bit longer than usual shipping times, primarily due to :

  • Carriers adapting to new import requirements
  • U.S. Customs being understaffed to inspect all arriving parcels previously let in automatically under the now-defunct de minimis exemption.
  • Shipments crossing the border with wrong or incomplete paperwork causing entire shipments to be delayed or refused
  • Some postal services may temporarily pause U.S. shipments.

How can I avoid unexpected costs or delays?

Before placing an order:

  • Ensure the item being ordered is CUSMA-compliant from the FAQ above.
  • Review and be aware of any customs fees you are being charged, as clearly listed at checkout.
  • Monitor your order tracking status in case U.S. Customs requests more information from you to process your order for delivery.

How is Zipperloft helping to avoid delays?

  • Right now we plan to only ship CUSMA-compliant items to the USA. That means, items made in Canada.
  • We will ensure that Customs has a valid certification of origin and will include a copy in U.S.-destined orders.
  • Will be tweaking the website throughout the next month to accommodate changes required by Customs, to ensure the correct tariff fees are charged and listed at checkout.
  • Like you we will monitor the tracking status of each order in case Customs requests more information from us.

Why is the U.S. making this change?

  • The U.S. government believes the current system had loopholes that allowed large order sellers to avoid duties by breaking shipments into low-value packages.
  • The stated goal is to enforce fair trade practices and support domestic businesses, however part of the mandate is to force U.S. citizens to look for and purchase from shops in the USA.
  • These changes apply to all countries, including Canada, even though CUSMA remains in place.

How is Zipperloft applying tariff collection?

  • DDP (duties paid) shipments require fees and tariffs are paid when ordering a shipping label.
  • Over the next week Zipperloft will be introducing a tariff and fee collection tool to the Shopify checkout page expressly for this purpose, and the U.S. customer will be charged applicable tariffs during checkout on zipperloft.ca.
  • Customers in Canada are unaffected.
  • By having Zipperloft purchase prepaid tariff labels, customers will not owe tariffs or fees when the order arrives in the U.S.A., allowing for more rapid direct home delivery.
  • As Etsy has not yet provided any mechanism to collect fees and tariffs due on U.S. bound shipments made from that platform, Zipperloft has disabled the ability for U.S. customers to place orders through Etsy. 
  • U.S. customers must place orders via the Zipperloft website.

The timeframe to process all the necessary changes to the existing relationship between the U.S. and Canada was very short, so shippers, customs and online stores all have been struggling over the past three weeks to meet short deadlines requiring sometimes massive changes to the processes and methodologies of shops wanting to continue to sell to the U.S.A., not to mention the immediate requirement to determine and record the HTS code of every product sold to prove country of origin for CUSMA customs certification.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work out all the bugs from the magnitude of the changes required. 

-- Dan and Jane

(rbsep2725)