US Exporter Says Canada Should Boost de Minimis Threshold, Improve Border Agency
Boston-based e-commerce company Wayfair has urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to address several non-tariff trade barriers that it says hinder its ability to export goods into Canada.
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In response to USTR's request for comments on how the USMCA is working ahead of a review of the pact (see 2509160063), Wayfair said last month that Canada should be encouraged to increase its de minimis threshold to at least USD$400, up from CAD$150 (USD$106) today, to ease the administrative burden that trade compliance places on American companies.
"This would lower costs for U.S. companies like Wayfair, allowing them to hire more American workers, increase investment in the United States, and further support the U.S. manufacturing sector," Wayfair wrote. "Furthermore, a higher Canadian de minimis threshold would increase exports of U.S. goods to Canada, thereby lowering the U.S.-Canada bilateral trade deficit."
The U.S. traditionally had a USD$800 de minimis threshold but ended its duty-free policy for low-value packages in August (see 2507300046).
Wayfair also wants Canada to fix “technical shortcomings” in the new Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management System (CARM) (see 2403180044 and 2410070013), including an inability to adjust or correct import transactions en masse.
“Wayfair has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and significant time on attempting to use manual workarounds, yet the CBSA has not accepted longstanding, simplified data formats such as spreadsheets, despite the CARM system shortcomings,” the company wrote.
Another recommendation is that USTR get Canada to commit to implementing a new process for appealing CBSA decisions. The current process requires importers to pay to appeal, which “places significant financial burdens” on them, and it often “takes many months or years before final decisions are granted,” Wayfair said. Wayfair believes payment should be deferred until a final judgment is made, and appeals should be processed more quickly.
Wayfair also asked USTR to address the CBSA’s “decentralized structure,” which “often results in conflicting regulatory guidance and overlapping audits for a single importer.” The company believes that having dedicated case managers or a centralized resource for certain importers could address the problem.