Most Canadian Products Were Never Tariff-Free Into the U.S. We Just Didn’t Notice.

What’s happening now is that small and medium business leaders are being forced into more burdensome trade pathways. Here’s the truth that a lot of Canadian businesses are only now confronting: many of the products we’ve been shipping south were never actually CUSMA-compliant. They didn’t qualify for preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA before that, either. The rules of origin in these agreements are specific and often demanding—depending on your product, it’s not enough that it was “made in Canada.” Where your raw materials come from, how they were processed, and at what stage of production they entered North America can all be deciding factors.

So why didn’t this matter before? Because of the de minimis exemption.

For years, any shipment valued under $800 USD could enter the U.S. without duties, regardless of origin. That meant compliance was essentially optional for small-value, direct-to-consumer shipments. A Canadian business could ship a $60 product to a customer in Michigan and never think twice about rules of origin, harmonized system codes, or certificates of compliance. The system just let it through.

That changed on August 29, 2025, when the U.S. eliminated de minimis for all countries. Now every shipment, regardless of value, requires formal customs entry and is subject to applicable duties. Non-CUSMA-compliant goods face a 35% tariff. Suddenly, compliance questions that businesses could afford to ignore for years have become urgent.

What’s new isn’t the complexity of trade rules. What’s new is that small businesses can no longer avoid them.

The adjustment is painful. Documentation requirements are exacting. Small errors in classification codes trigger holds and audits. Couriers are strained under the volume of formal entries. Canada Post can’t currently process CUSMA claims on postal shipments at all. The result is a perfect storm of delays, unexpected costs, and operational chaos—especially for lean teams without trade expertise.

Delayed shipments disrupt cash flow. Unexpected duties squeeze margins. Customers don’t distinguish between a customs delay and a broken promise. For small exporters, the friction at the border is not just a nuisance, it’s a constraint on their growth. 

The path ahead is straightforward, even if it’s not easy. Businesses need a working understanding of the specific way CUSMA rules that apply to their products, whether their supply chains can actually support compliance, and the mechanics of how they can comply.

If you find yourself in this position, professional trade support may no longer optional. Specialized training or engaging a customs broker or trade specialist can help you address problems before they arrive.

The CUSMA rules were always there. The de minimis exemption just made them invisible. Now that cushion is gone and Canadian exporters must prepare to deal with them directly.

Learn about how the World Trade Centre Toronto is supporting SMEs seeking to be CUSMA compliant: www.bot.com/cusma