How the Canada/US Tariffs Impact You
Update: Tariffs will not be enacted on February 4th, 2025 and are expected to come into effect in March. Whether this will happen or not is anyone’s guess. We will continue to monitor the situation.
As of this time, we are expecting the United States to implement a 25% tariff on goods imported into the US from Canada on February 4th, 2025. Additionally, Canada is also expected to enact tariffs on some goods exported by the US into Canada in the following weeks. As these tariffs will impact our business and your orders with us, we need to keep you, our customers, informed on what to expect.
What are tariffs?
When you make a purchase from a shop in another country and have it shipped into your country, you are importing goods into your country. Likewise, when you ship goods from your country to another country, you are exporting goods from your country. Our non-Canadian customers play the role of importers when they make a purchase from us, while we play the role of the exporter, the party that moves goods from within our country of origin outside our country.
Tariffs are akin to taxes or duties that are placed on goods originating from another country (for example, Canada) that are imported into a country (like the US). Tariffs, like taxes and duties, are intended to disincentivize consumers from purchasing (importing) goods originating from outside of that country so that they may consider purchasing alternatives produced and available in that country.
There is some confusion regarding who is expected to pay for tariffs but it's expected that the importer is to pay for them.
How does this work?
While we don't know the exact specifics for every case, we expect it to work as so:
Suppose you are purchasing (importing) a dress from Canada into the US valued at $100 USD and the US has imposed a 25% tariff on all goods originating from Canada, your order will be assessed at the US border and you will be charged an amount that is 25% of the value of that dress ($25 USD) and you will have to pay that amount to US Customs in order to receive your dress.
Because it's not feasible or convenient for you to go to your nearest customs and border location, to pay the tariff amount and clear your package, most likely, the freight company (FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.) will pay that amount on your behalf to get the package through the border, and then bill you for the tariff amount and for the service of paying that amount in advance on your behalf.
As tariffs are intended to discourage you from purchasing a dress from Canada and instead purchase your dress elsewhere, you will need to consider carefully if the additional 25% you will need to pay is worth it before you place your order.
What changes for Keyspresso?
As a significant number of our customers are from the US, we expect a reduction in our US customer base and a decline in sales. However, the risk that we will go out of business is low as we primarily operate as an online store, and our services are drop-off/pick-up.
For our US customers with orders in process and in transit: we will notify you regarding how tariffs will affect you. Please be aware there is nothing we can do regarding the tariffs for orders that have yet to cross the border as of February 4th.
Chit Chats will still be available as a shipping option, but only for Canadian customers. We are pausing Chit Chats as a shipping option for US customers as Chit Chats' business model is greatly impacted by the tariffs. We are considering how best to continue offering Chit Chats as a service for American clients, but we expect the costs for American clients to increase as the tariffs would need to be paid for in advance. Canada Post will continue to be an option for shipping to the US.
We don't expect our prices for goods to change in the forseeable future, but if our suppliers raise their prices as a result of the political environment, we may be forced to charge our customers more as well.
We'll be monitoring the situation closely and keep our custoemrs informed and posted if anything changes in the upcoming weeks and months.