The Global Entry with Thomas Taggart — A bi-weekly column on navigating global trade, ecommerce, and compliance in a changing world

Read also: The Trade Deficit Myth: Why America Quietly Wins with Canada

For U.S. ecommerce brands, Canada has long been the most accessible international market — close in proximity, aligned in culture, and historically stable from a trade perspective. But as we move into Q4 2025, the landscape is shifting fast. Three concurrent developments are reshaping how brands sell, ship, and comply north of the border:

• The removal of Canada’s 25% surtax on select U.S. goods, opening new opportunities for competitive pricing and margin recovery.

• Full enforcement of CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management), a new customs system transforming how B2B and Non-Resident Importer (NRI) shipments clear customs.

• A nationwide Canada Post strike, forcing merchants to rethink last-mile delivery strategies — and reconsider whether DDP or DDU shipping models can withstand service-level shocks.

Taken together, these changes mark a pivotal moment. For some brands, they signal opportunity; for others, potential disruption. The key lies in understanding how these policies interact — and adapting your cross-border strategy accordingly.

1. Tariff Relief Re-Opens a Door

After many months of escalating tariff pressure, Canada’s decision to eliminate its 25% surtax on select U.S. products offers some breathing room. This policy shift, effective September 1, 2025, rolls back duties on thousands of American-made goods that were implemented in March of this year as a retaliatory trade measure.

For U.S. brands in affected categories — particularly cosmetics, consumer goods, homeware, and select apparel — this means:

• Lower landed costs and more flexibility to reduce prices or boost margins

• New room for promotional spend ahead of Black Friday/Cyber Monday

• Opportunity to regain competitiveness in a market that’s increasingly price-sensitive

Smart brands are already reassessing their pricing models, updating checkout configurations, and reallocating marketing dollars to re-engage Canadian shoppers who may have previously been priced out.

The takeaway: tariff volatility cuts both ways. When relief comes, agility determines who benefits most.

2. CARM Enforcement Redefines Compliance

If tariff relief is the carrot, CARM enforcement may be the stick. The Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Commercial Accounts Registration and Movement (CARM) program represents a fundamental shift in how duties and taxes are paid at the border. Rather than relying on customs brokers to remit payments, CARM transfers this responsibility directly to the Importer of Record (IOR).

On May 20, 2025, CBSA made CARM mandatory for all commercial importers, including U.S. Non-Resident Importers (NRIs). While customs brokers were initially permitted to continue paying duties and taxes on behalf of NRIs as a transitional measure, that grace period ends on October 21, 2025. This means that all commercial importers — including U.S. NRIs — should be prepared to pay duties and taxes through the new CARM Client Portal.

This change has deep implications:

• Customs brokers no longer hold Release Before Payment (RPP) privileges for shippers

• Importers must register in the portal, purchase their own surety bond, or pay duties and taxes upfront

• Merchants shipping as NRIs must now assume full responsibility for customs compliance, including registration, bonding, and remittance

For many direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, this enforcement creates a decision point:

• Continue shipping as an NRI and absorb the added administrative burden, or

• Revert to a consumer-as-importer model, leveraging de minimis thresholds and simplified clearance

The latter often makes more sense for DTC shipments, allowing brands to reduce the administrative burden of CARM compliance while maintaining speed and affordability. But whichever path you choose, failing to register or adapt can result in costly holds and clearance delays — particularly as the CBSA ramps up audit activity in 2025.

CARM is ultimately a modernization effort — one that rewards brands with strong compliance infrastructure. The challenge is that many smaller merchants, especially those without Canadian entities, are now playing catch-up.

3. Strikes Stress-Test Shipping Models

Finally, the Canada Post strike underscores an often-overlooked reality: cross-border logistics isn’t just about crossing borders — it’s about what happens after.

Since September 25, Canada Post workers have been on a nationwide strike, halting all parcel processing and delivery. USPS continues to accept parcels bound for Canada, but those shipments are being staged, not delivered. The ripple effects are widespread:

• Priority DDU shipments reliant on USPS handoffs to Canada Post are stuck in limbo

• Delivery guarantees — including USPS’s PMEI service — have been suspended

• Rural and P.O. Box deliveries, which depend exclusively on Canada Post, are paused indefinitely

For brands still relying on postal DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid), the strike is a wake-up call. Without diversification, a single labor disruption can derail weeks of customer orders — especially during peak season.

By contrast, brands leveraging Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) models with multi-carrier networks have been able to reroute around Canada Post, maintaining service continuity for 90%+ of Canadian customers.

The lesson? Resilience requires redundancy. In-country fulfillment, alternative carriers, and DDP routing aren’t just “nice to have” — they’re shock absorbers for moments like this.

Canada’s Evolving Trade Equation

Zoom out, and a pattern emerges. Canada’s trade and logistics environment is evolving toward greater compliance accountability, operational complexity, and network diversification.

For brands, this moment is a test of readiness. Those who treat Canada as a mature, strategically distinct market — not just an “extension” of U.S. operations — will find room to grow even amid uncertainty.

The next quarter will reveal which merchants can pivot quickly, manage compliance proactively, and maintain customer trust through disruption. For everyone else, it’s a reminder: international growth doesn’t pause for policy shifts — it rewards preparation.

Author Bio

Thomas Taggart is VP of Global Trade at Passport, a leading global ecommerce solutions provider helping brands like Ridge, HexClad, and Wildflower Cases scale globally with cross-border shipping, expert compliance support, and in-country enablement services. To learn more about Passport, visit passportglobal.com. The Global Entry with Thomas Taggart is a bi-weekly column in Global Trade Magazine covering the strategies, regulations, and insights shaping the future of cross-border commerce.