As American online retailers push to loosen shipping rules, Canadian businesses are pushing back.
The issue is how much Canadians can buy from U.S. retailers without having to pay taxes or duties.
Jim Cormier, a spokesman for the Retail Council of Canada, said that limit is set at $20 worth of goods, but the council is worried American retailers want it increased to $200.
“We’re not trying to send a message that we think that this is imminent, but it’s our job to be paranoid,” he said.
That $20 cap, which the federal government sets, is known as “de minimis” and applies to shipments from the U.S. to Canada.
For American consumers buying from Canadian retailers online, they get an $800 de minimis.
Cormier said the problem is an increase could lead to more purchases from American retailers, which would reduce the amount of tax collected in Canada and potentially put companies out of business.
If consumers see lower prices in the U.S. and start getting offers of free shipping, it would eliminate the incentive to buy local, Cormier said.
“That’s the problem.”
Cormier said all Canadian retailers want is a level playing field and ask people to look at the greater impact of buying from American online retailers.
If Canadian retailers go under, consumers lose choice in their local community and almost nobody does all their shopping online, he said.
“You have to understand that it’s all interconnected.”
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