Trump tariff fine print: $800 daily exemption for B.C. businesses to be eliminated

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If U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed trade tariffs are implemented in early March, B.C. businesses are expected to take a huge hit.

Right now, the de minimis exemption allows small businesses to send goods worth up to $800 across the border per day into the United States without having to pay duty.

However, if Trump’s tariffs do go into effect next month, the executive order would eliminate that exemption.

“About 80 per cent of our customers are in the US,” Sarah Jagger, who owns Domestic Objects, told Global News.

She runs an e-commerce business, selling children’s play tents.

“I am incredibly uncertain,” Jagger said. “I’m worried about domestic objects and its future. It’s hard to know how this will actually all play out.”

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The elimination would not just affect businesses.

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Anyone crossing into the U.S. with new items not for personal use could also face duties and possible delays.

“I suspect they will impact Canadian businesses’ ability to compete,“ Michelle Auger with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said.

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“Especially those small ones that are trying to compete with those large multinationals it just increases their costs. They don’t have the volume to recoup that cost at the end of the day.”

Auger said they have been assured by the Canadian Border Services Agency that there will not be any delays or issues at the border.

Trump’s tariffs eliminated the de minimis exemption for all goods leaving China, which could affect packages from retailers like Shein and Temu.

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