De Minimis: a phrase few of us think about, but one that affects millions of Canadians multiple times per year, and one that is an effective loophole for movement of purchases across our borders.
The Latin term literally means of a minimum. In practice, it translates to something of such small consequence that it does not matter. But, in cross-border trade, it matters, as Donald Trump might say, “Bigly.” And for a seemingly trivial phrase, it has complex applications.
In April, Trump closed and then opened the de minimis rule for goods moving across the US border. In the United States, goo0ds with a value of less than $800 were not subject to duties. In his “big beautiful bill,” he reintroduced elimination of the de minimis rule, effective in 2027. https://www.rila.org/blog/2025/07/senate-moves-end-deminimis-retailers
This change will be phased in over the next two years.
That means that small shipments entering the country will pay duties and tariffs on all of those goods with no exceptions for any country. While the far eastern countries like China will be hard-hit, Canadian companies shipping south will be, as well.
The European Union, immediately after Trump’s imposition of the de minimis ban in the spring, introduced legislation to eliminate their de minimis exemptions, also. What these two steps mean for Canada is unclear, as we are in the process of developing closer economic ties to the EU that may give us a break, and a potential agreement with the US may include de minimis status updates. https://www.stattimes.com/ecommerce/eu-follows-us-to-modify-norms-for-de-minimis-imports-1354443
Both the EU and USA rules affect exporters, but most of us are importers, buying from US Amazon, EU and, predominantly, China.
Canada’s rules, while similar to other countries, set different caps on duty-free purchases, dependent on whether they arrive via courier or post. At the same time, there has been no political chatter about eliminating the graduated $800 purchase cap for goods coming in with Canadians who have gone cross-border shopping for longer than 48 hours.
We currently allow an exemption of $150 on duties for goods arriving from the US or Mexico by courier, with a $40 exemption for taxes. If arriving by post, the exemptions are lowered to $20. For goods arriving from other countries, the exemption is $20. https://www.retailcouncil.org/de-minimis-ensure-a-level-playing-field-for-retailers-in-canada/
US merchants are pushing Canada to increase the exemption to $200 across the board, for both goods and taxes. This would provide a huge economic advantage to American cross-border shipping. If there is a silver lining to American attempts, through the big, beautiful bill, to become more isolationist, it is that the American efforts to raise our de minimis exemption likely will fail.
In any event, it would appear that de minimis, as insignificant as the phrase implies, will disappear soon, with a very significant result.