Updates for US customers

Starting on Aug 29th, the US is removing the de minimis limit on incoming packages. Until now, shipments valued at under $800 have been able to enter the US with minimal scrutiny and paperwork and no duties or taxes charged.

In most countries around the world, incoming packages that require the payment of duties can be held by the domestic postal service or courier company until the customer who has ordered the package pays whatever duty is owed.

The US has decided to implement the fairly novel approach of requiring the shipper (either foreign postal service or courier) to collect any expected duties before the package reaches US customs. This seems to be, at least in part, a way to hide from US customers, the fact that duties and tariffs are a tax that is ultimately paid by you, the US consumer.

Because of the incredibly rushed nature of this change and the extreme lack of clarity that the US has been providing regarding the new policies and procedures that are about to go into effect, I simply don't know what the additional costs are going to be for orders being sent into the US.

All of my shipments to the US to date have been sent through Canada Post and their tracked packet service. That service has been suspended and Canada Post has not yet provided a final update to businesses on what new system will be taking it's place.

Until the new policies go into effect on the 29th and we actually see what the new process looks like in action and can judge what the additional costs will be, I've decided to play it safe and pause US orders. Once I am able to get clarity on what it will actually cost to get shipments to US customers I hope I'll be able to re-open my store to you.

In an ideal world, most of my products should be able to qualify as USMCA compliant and be eligible for duty free treatment at the border. Even if that ends up being the case (it will likely depend on how arduous the process is for proving compliance) the cost of purchasing shipping labels from the postal and courier services is going to be significantly higher than it was in the past. Those services will be required to do significant additional administrative work in processing and assessing customs info submitted to them, and in calculating and collecting the appropriate duties owed on each package. The cost of that extra work is inevitably going to be passed down onto me, the shipper, and therefore also you, the customer.

So best case scenario, shipping costs are still going to go up a fair bit from the relatively low costs I've set for US orders in the past.

In a worst case scenario, if I am not able to jump through enough hoops to prove that my gear is USMCA compliant, then on top of higher shipping costs, orders could also be subject to the current US tariff rate on Canada of 35%. At that point, it might just not make sense for customers if you're having to pay upwards of half the cost of a bag in additional shipping and duty charges. I hope this won't be where we end up but I just don't know yet.

If you're keen to order something as soon as it's possible to do so again, just shoot me an email at info@orangecatpacks.ca and I'll make sure you get an update as soon as I know more.

Thanks everyone for your patience as we try to all make sense of this madness!

-Maya