Update on tariffs and international trade
New and evolving trade regulations between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and China may impact your business:
- On April 2, the U.S. announced a baseline 10% tariff on all imports, as well as additional tariffs on imports from a wide variety of countries.
- The 10% tariff goes into effect on April 5, and the higher tariffs for individual countries go into effect on April 9.
- Imports from Canada and Mexico are tariff-free if compliant with the USMCA trade agreement and subject to a 25% if non-compliant.
- The U.S. also announced the elimination of de minimis treatment, which allows for duty-free entry for shipments under $800 in value, for imports from China starting May 2.
- After that date, postal shipments under $800 are subject to a 30% tariff or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item on June 1).
- After that date, postal shipments under $800 are subject to a 30% tariff or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item on June 1).
In the article below, find out how Shopify supports selling across borders—and learn more about Shopify’s position on these changes.
Sourcing and selling products internationally is a key way to expand your business's reach, product offering, market share, and customer base. However, you must stay on top of evolving tariffs, customs requirements, and duties.
Shopify has tools to sell cross-border and keep pace with rapidly evolving trade policies.
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Optimize duties collection
Navigating tariffs, which impose duties and import taxes, means making strategic decisions that affect your business. You may choose to absorb these costs, which could impact profit, or pass them to customers.
Whichever approach you choose, being transparent with customers is critical to build trust and maintain a positive customer experience.
Managing duties and taxes in international markets
Shopify merchants can use the duties calculator in the admin to estimate duties and import taxes. You can build those duties into your prices to cover expected costs or transparently display them to customers at checkout.
By communicating that no additional fees will apply at delivery, your customers will feel more confident in completing their purchase.
Here’s how:
- Go to Settings > Taxes and duties in your admin to turn on duties and import tax collection at checkout.
- Add a country of origin to your products so the correct import tax and duty rates are applied at checkout.
- Add HS codes to your products to identify what the product is and help avoid border delays.
You can bulk-add HS codes and country of origin via CSV, or add them manually on the product page.
Purchase Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) labels
If you calculate and collect duties and import taxes, you need to purchase and use Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping labels instead of standard shipping labels for international orders. This ensures your customer is not double-charged for duties and import taxes.
Currently, you can purchase DDP labels from a third-party app—soon, you’ll be able to purchase DDP labels through Shopify Shipping from carriers like DHL eCommerce and DHL Express.
Tips for offering a pre-paid duties experience:
- If you are including duties and taxes in the product price, indicate this to customers on the product page to enhance add-to-cart conversion.
- Update your shipping policy to explain that customers won't face additional charges upon delivery.
Purchase Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) labels
If you choose not to collect duties at checkout, you can use Delivered Duties Unpaid (DDU) labels (also called Delivered At Place or DAP). With DDU shipping, you take responsibility for shipping the product, while your customer pays any import or duties fees upon delivery.
You can buy DDU shipping labels in the U.S. and Canada through Shopify Shipping when you fulfill orders in your admin.
Tips for using DDU shipping labels:
- Clearly communicate that customers are responsible for paying potential duties, taxes, and handling fees upon delivery.
- Include this information in your shipping policy and order confirmation emails.
Shopify merchants in select countries can use Track with Shop to let customers track their order's location and status in real-time, creating a transparent delivery experience.
Diversify suppliers
Diversifying your supplier base by pivoting to countries with favorable trade agreements can protect against unpredictable cost increases and supply chain disruptions.
Shopify partners with product suppliers through the Shopify App Store. Browse product sourcing apps to find a supplier that fits your business.
Popular product sourcing apps include:
- Collective: find and sell products from U.S. Shopify brands.
- Faire: browse Faire’s wholesale marketplace to buy inventory from brands worldwide.
- Printful: create custom products and ship them directly to customers.
- Syncee: sell products from suppliers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe.
Whether you source products through the Shopify App Store or elsewhere, choose your supplier carefully to ensure they meet your business’s needs.
Use local third-party logistics (3PL) providers
To minimize the impact of tariffs in your most important international markets, consider working with a local warehouse to fulfill orders in that country.
When you ship products to local warehouses around the world, your products are still subject to applicable duties and taxes—however, the fees are calculated on the cost of goods and not the retail price, reducing the impact on your margins.
Working with a warehouse local to a market also speeds up fulfillment times, reduces shipping costs, and allows you to more easily offer returns to buyers in that market.
The Shopify Fulfillment Network helps merchants connect to U.S. warehouses for storage and domestic shipping. The Fulfillment Network app connects your store with a network of distribution hubs and fulfillment centers operated by Flexport, Shopify’s logistics partner.
Flexport provides 2 and 3-day domestic delivery, inventory storage, and wholesale distribution to more than 20 retailers, including Amazon and Walmart.
Sell across borders with Shopify
Adapting to shifting trade policies is essential for growth. Shopify continues to develop tools that help merchants navigate cross-border commerce with confidence.
Whether through duties collection at checkout or Managed Markets, Shopify is committed to helping you create seamless international shopping experiences that keep your customers coming back.
From first-time sellers to global retailers, Shopify works for everyone. See plans and pricing.
