Shipping Gift Baskets to USA After September 1st 2025

September 19, 2025

Why It’s Suddenly Harder to Send Parcels from Canada to the U.S. (Even Small Ones)

If you’ve tried recently to ship something from Canada to a friend or customer in the U.S., you’ve probably noticed unexpected delays, extra fees, more paperwork, or even things getting held up at customs. This is due to a rule change from the U.S that was implemented late August 2025, making shipping parcels to the USA more complicated, particularly for smaller parcels under $800 USD, that re no longer exempt from most of the duty and customs procedures.

Here is further insight to what rules have been implemented, what changes and problems this causes, and what senders/recipients need to be aware of. 

What changed: End of the “De Minimis” Exemption

• Prior to this change, many parcels valued at USD 800 or less could enter the U.S. under what’s called the de minimis exemption. That meant no duty/tariffs, minimal customs paperwork, and often no need for a customs broker or formal customs entry.
• As of August 29, 2025, that de minimis exemption has been eliminated for all commercial shipments coming into the United States, including those from Canada. 
• Now, even low‑value shipments that would previously “sail through” must be entered formally through customs. Duties and tariffs that apply based on the product, its country of origin, etc., must be considered. 

Why this matters: New Requirement for Customs Brokers / Duty Payment

Because the exemption is gone:

There is now a Declaration ID required for all parcels that are being sent to the U.S, which is another step to take when sending parcels. 

It also means that all courier companies and carriers, etc, need to collect tariffs, duties and all declaration forms for customs are completed, which results in more paperwork and longer wait times.

You will need to use a customs broker, that has approved permission to help with the process of classification, determining duty costs and handling the entry of the parcel into the U.S. Any parcels without brokers will most likely be heavily delayed or rejected for shipping. 

Problems and Challenges this Causes

1. Higher costs: Small parcels now have extra costs that will increase the final cost of sending even smaller or cheaper products with brokerage fees, classification charges, duties. 
2. Delays: More customs review result in more paperwork, broker processing, etc so there are longer shipment times.
3. Complex compliance: Declaring the correct documentation, correct value, codes for goods, HS (Harmonized System) or else it can result in fines or rejected parcels.
4. Uncertainty: A lot of customer frustration, when sending parcels due to unexpected feeds and massive delays which can hurt businesses. 
5. Operational shifts: All couriers must integrate systems to calculate duties/tariffs/taxes and partner with customs and duties, which results in longer processing times, processing fees, etc. 

This change that took effect around August‑29, 2025 (just before September) removed the long‑standing de minimis exemption for all low‑value shipments. Therefore, all parcels including small, must go through customs, duty/tariff collection, and involve a customs broker. This delays deliveries significantly and adds more time, cost, and risk. Businesses who ship across the border frequently must now adapt to these changes, otherwise it will result in more complex challenges and costs.

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