Cross-Border Shipping Between Canada and the US: A Compliance & Cost Guide (2026)

Shipping between Canada and the US changed more in the last twelve months than in the previous twenty years. The US suspended its $800 de minimis exemption in August 2025, wrote that suspension into permanent regulation in June 2026, and layered a new Section 122 global tariff on top of separate steel, aluminum, copper, auto, and lumber tariffs. If your last cross-border shipping guide was written before mid-2025, it’s already out of date.

This guide breaks down exactly what a Canada-US shipment costs today, which documents CBP and CBSA actually require, and how to keep duty exposure as low as legally possible under CUSMA.

What Does Cross-Border Shipping Between Canada and the US Cost in 2026?

A small parcel typically costs $20–$60 to ship across the border, while full truckload freight runs $1,500–$5,000+ depending on distance, weight, and whether the load needs a customs broker. The real cost swing today isn’t freight — it’s duty. Since August 2025, nearly every US-bound parcel is dutiable regardless of its value, so the tariff line item now often outweighs the shipping line item.

Two things drive nearly all of today’s added cost: the loss of the US de minimis exemption and the stack of sector-specific tariffs that sit outside CUSMA protection.

Has the US Really Eliminated Duty-Free Treatment for Low-Value Shipments?

Yes. The US suspended its $800 de minimis exemption for all countries effective August 29, 2025, and this is no longer a temporary executive action — it’s now written into CBP regulation. Many older guides still describe de minimis as available or “at risk”; as of mid-2026, it is gone for commercial shipments and scheduled for full statutory repeal.

The timeline matters for anyone still planning around outdated advice:

• August 29, 2025 — Executive Order 14324 suspended de minimis duty-free treatment for all countries, including Canada, for non-postal commercial shipments valued at $800 or less.
• June 24, 2026 — CBP published interim final rules moving the suspension out of executive-order territory and into the regulatory code, alongside a new informal entry process for international mail.
• July 1, 2027 — Section 321 de minimis is scheduled for permanent statutory repeal under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, closing the door on any future reversal by executive order alone.

What this means in practice: every commercial parcel entering the US from Canada now needs a formal or informal customs entry filed through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), regardless of declared value. Paper low-value entry forms and the old Entry Type 86 no longer work.

What Are the Current Duty Rates on Canadian Goods Entering the US?

CUSMA-compliant goods still enter the US duty-free; non-compliant goods currently face a 10% Section 122 tariff, down from the 25–35% IEEPA “fentanyl” tariffs that were struck down by the US Supreme Court in February 2026. That Supreme Court ruling didn’t end tariffs on Canadian goods — it forced the administration to switch legal authority, and the replacement tariff, while lower, is not permanent by design.

Here’s how the current stack breaks down:

• Section 122 global tariff (10%) — Took effect February 24, 2026 as a temporary 150-day measure under the Trade Act of 1974. CUSMA-compliant goods are exempt, as are energy products, critical minerals, fertilizers, and several other carve-out categories.
• Section 232 sectoral tariffs (10–50%) — Cover steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles and auto parts, and lumber and wood products. These run on separate legal authority from the IEEPA and Section 122 tariffs, so the Supreme Court ruling did not touch them, and CUSMA compliance does not exempt a shipment from them.
• Lumber and wood products — Have their own escalating schedule, with certain upholstered wood furniture and kitchen cabinets reaching tariffs as high as 50% by January 2026, again with no CUSMA exemption.

The practical takeaway for shippers: CUSMA compliance is now the single biggest lever you control. A shipment that qualifies under CUSMA’s rules of origin skips the Section 122 tariff entirely; one that doesn’t gets hit with it on top of whatever sectoral tariff already applies.

What Does CUSMA Actually Require to Qualify for Duty-Free Treatment?

To claim CUSMA preference, an importer must be able to prove the goods meet CUSMA’s rules of origin — and that proof has to be filed with an actual customs entry, since it can no longer be claimed automatically through a low-value exemption. This is the step most small and mid-size shippers get wrong, because under the old de minimis system they never had to think about origin documentation for small parcels.

To qualify, you generally need:

1. A Certificate of Origin (or a CUSMA-compliant origin statement) showing the goods meet the applicable product-specific rule of origin.
2. Supporting records — bills of materials, supplier declarations, or manufacturing records — that back up the origin claim if CBP asks for verification.
3. A formal or informal entry filed in ACE, since CUSMA preference cannot be claimed on postal shipments processed under the new de minimis-replacement entry process.

If you can’t document origin, CBP will simply treat the shipment as non-preferential, and it will absorb the full Section 122 (and any applicable Section 232) tariff.

What Documents Do You Need for Every Cross-Border Shipment?

Every commercial shipment between Canada and the US needs four core documents, and missing or incomplete paperwork is still the single most common cause of clearance delays. None of these are new — what’s changed is that they’re now required on shipments that used to skip customs review entirely under de minimis.

• Commercial invoice — Item-level description, quantity, unit value, and total value. Vague descriptions like “parts” or “gifts” are a leading cause of holds.
• Bill of Lading (BOL) — The contract of carriage between shipper and carrier; required for freight shipments and increasingly requested for parcels since the entry-type change.
• HS (Harmonized System) codes — The 6-to-10-digit classification that determines the applicable duty rate; get this wrong and you either overpay or risk a post-entry audit.
• Certificate of Origin — Required to claim CUSMA preference; without it, goods default to non-preferential tariff treatment.

For freight or higher-value shipments, add a packing list and, where applicable, an Importer of Record registration (CBP Form 5106) if you don’t already have one on file.

How Much Does It Cost to Ship Southbound vs. Northbound?

Direction matters more than it used to, because the two countries’ low-value thresholds now point in opposite directions — Canada still offers a meaningful duty-free allowance, while the US does not.

This asymmetry is why many Canadian e-commerce sellers have seen landed costs to US customers rise sharply since 2025, even on small orders that previously moved duty-free in both directions.

What Should Small Businesses Do to Manage These Changes?

Treat US import duty on cross-border parcels as a permanent cost of doing business rather than a temporary disruption, and build CUSMA compliance into your fulfillment process from day one rather than adding it after a shipment gets held. Waiting for a policy reversal is not a viable strategy — the suspension has already moved from executive order to regulation, with statutory repeal scheduled for 2027.

Practical steps that make the biggest difference:

• Register as an Importer of Record (or confirm your broker is filing under your EIN/SSN) before volume ships, not after a shipment is held.
• Build origin documentation into your supply chain now — get supplier declarations and bills of materials organized so a Certificate of Origin can be produced on demand.
• Reclassify your HS codes if you haven’t reviewed them since the tariff changes began; misclassification is now more expensive than ever given the layered tariffs.
• Separate CUSMA-eligible SKUs from non-eligible ones in your catalog so you can quote accurate landed costs to customers at checkout instead of absorbing surprise duty after the sale.
• Work with a customs broker for any commercial volume — at $50–$150 per clearance, brokerage is now often cheaper than the cost of a misfiled entry or a held shipment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still have to pay duty on a $50 item shipped from Canada to the US?

Yes. The $800 de minimis exemption that used to let low-value shipments enter duty-free was suspended for all countries on August 29, 2025, so value alone no longer exempts a shipment from duty or from formal customs entry.

Is the US de minimis exemption coming back?

It’s very unlikely. The suspension was codified into CBP regulation in June 2026, and a full statutory repeal is scheduled for July 1, 2027 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a change that can’t be undone by a simple executive order reversal.

What tariff rate applies to CUSMA-compliant Canadian goods today?

CUSMA-compliant goods are exempt from the current 10% Section 122 global tariff, the same way they were exempt from the earlier IEEPA tariffs. They can still be subject to separate Section 232 tariffs (10–50%) if they fall under steel, aluminum, copper, automotive, or lumber categories, since those tariffs run on different legal authority.

What happened to the 25–35% tariffs on Canadian goods?

The US Supreme Court ruled in February 2026 that those IEEPA-based tariffs exceeded the president’s authority and were invalid. The administration replaced them with a 10% Section 122 global tariff effective February 24, 2026, which still exempts CUSMA-compliant goods.

How much does a customs broker cost for cross-border shipments?

Typical brokerage fees run $50–$150 per border clearance, on top of base freight costs. For businesses shipping regular volume, a broker relationship usually pays for itself by avoiding misclassification errors and clearance delays.

What’s the duty-free threshold for shipping from the US into Canada?

Courier shipments qualifying under CUSMA can enter Canada duty-free up to CAD $150 and tax-free up to CAD $40. This threshold has not changed and remains more generous than the current US side, where no low-value exemption exists.

Can I still claim CUSMA preference on a shipment sent through international mail?

No. CUSMA preference cannot be claimed for postal shipments processed under the entry process created to replace de minimis; it can only be claimed through a formal or informal entry filed in CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

What’s the difference between Section 122 and Section 232 tariffs?

Section 122 is a temporary, renewable 10% global tariff under the Trade Act of 1974 that exempts CUSMA-compliant goods. Section 232 covers specific sectors — steel, aluminum, copper, autos, and lumber — under separate statutory authority, applies regardless of CUSMA status, and currently ranges from 10% to 50% depending on the product and its US content.