Online shoppers will get price breaks on some products they buy from websites outside of Canada as a result of new e-commerce rules in the new proposed trade agreement...
Under the new rules, what is called the de minimis threshold – the amount that can be imported to Canada without duties or taxes – would rise to C$150 for customs duties. That includes C$40 for sales taxes. Currently under NAFTA, the threshold is C$20, while the United States wanted Canada to raise it to US$800.
For example, an Ontario shopper buying a pair of C$100 China-made cotton pants from a U.S. online retailer would pay a total of C$113 under the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – including $13 in tax – while under the North American free-trade agreement (NAFTA), the consumer would pay C$132.21 in all, including C$17 in duties and a C$15.21 tax...
The difference would be most marked on items made in markets without a trade agreement with Canada, such as China, and items in categories with heavy duties, such as apparel and footwear, said Karl Littler, a senior vice-president of Retail Council of Canada...
... Andrea Stairs, general manager of eBay Canada and Latin America, said consumers will get few breaks from the latest trade deal. That’s because the threshold changes only apply to foreign online purchases that are shipped across the border by courier rather than by a postal service – and most goods are delivered by post, Ms. Stairs said.
...Pierre-Olivier Herbert, press secretary to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, said most imported e-commerce shipments are done by courier...
This was excerpted from 1 October 2018 edition of The Globe and Mail.