Canada’s small businesses are paying for Trump’s trade tantrum

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Taber Times

• Border crackdown on small parcels is hammering Canadian sellers

Here’s a true story. It happens to come from my family a few generations back, but you’ll find no shortage of similar tales across Canada.

Two brothers arrive from Eastern Europe. They don’t speak a word of English and have $10 between them. They struggle, they hustle, and eventually scrape together a small business. It lasts a couple of years—then it folds.

“What are we going to do?” one brother moans.

“Well,” replies the other, “the $10 we had when we started, we still have. Now we know the language. Let’s start another one.”

They did. And that business not only survived—it flourished. Today, it has outlets across North America.

I share that story now because countless small businesses in Canada are staring down the barrel of failure—not due to bad products, poor management or market saturation—but thanks to yet another arbitrary, ill-conceived trade move by the United States.

This time, it’s the axing of the de minimis rule—a U.S. policy that allowed low-value imports (under US$800) from countries like Canada to enter duty-free and without complicated customs paperwork, as long as there was only one parcel per person per day.

Why did Donald Trump eliminate this? Hard to say. These are tiny shipments, filling consumer niches, not upending global supply chains. Cracking down on them won’t make American manufacturing great again. But it will make things messier.

Maybe he’s hoping for a bit more in tax revenue. If so, he should think again. These duties will be microscopic. And the cost of collecting them? Not so small. Bureaucracy doesn’t come cheap—especially not the kind that involves paperwork for every knick-knack crossing the border.

Here’s the timeless rule politicians always seem to forget: you get less of what you tax. Pile duties and documentation on small shipments and—shocker—there will be fewer of them. Canadian businesses are already seeing it happen.

That’s a problem. Small businesses and self-employment are pillars of Canada’s economy. And in this age of supply-chain chaos and tariff roulette, they’re more important than ever.

Many of these businesses—artisans, specialty food producers, independent retailers—found a niche selling to individual U.S. customers under the old de minimis exemption. They’re not shipping by the truckload. But with the internet as their storefront, they carved out loyal customer bases and a modest, meaningful livelihood.

Now? Higher prices. Heavier paperwork. Shrinking margins. Vanishing viability.

So what are these entrepreneurs to do?

Fortunately, entrepreneurs are a special breed. They don’t give up easily. They pivot. They push forward. They find the next opening.

Can they boost Canadian sales? Tap into Australia or Britain, where customs are friendlier and language isn’t a barrier? Reinvent themselves with a new product or service entirely?

It’s said the only one who enjoys change is a wet baby. But ready or not, change is here—and it’s not even our doing.

Trump’s decision to kill the de minimis exemption was a gut punch to Canadian micro-exporters. It created costs and red tape that many small firms simply can’t absorb. While Ottawa has backed away from its own self-defeating tariffs, that won’t fix the damage already done.

If Canada wants to support its entrepreneurs, it needs to do more than clean up its own mess. It must help small businesses reach new markets, simplify export logistics, and build a trade system that doesn’t collapse every time Washington sneezes.

Because when global trade rules break down, it’s not the multinationals that suffer. It’s the little guys. And in Canada, they’re the backbone of everything.

Dr. Roslyn Kunin is a respected Canadian economist known for her extensive work in economic forecasting, public policy, and labour market analysis. She has held various prominent roles, including serving as the regional director for the federal government’s Department of Employment and Immigration in British Columbia and Yukon and as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Kunin is also recognized for her contributions to economic development, particularly in Western Canada.

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