“Still Feels Like The Wild West”: International Beauty Brands Cautiously Resume US Shipping After Trade Shift
Many international indie beauty and wellness brands have resumed e-commerce shipments to the United States after pausing them following the end of the de minimis exemption, a trade rule that allowed goods valued at $800 or less to enter the country without duties or extensive customs checks, on Aug. 29.
A majority of those returning to U.S. deliveries are using third-party couriers, while several are handling shipments themselves. Despite resuming operations, brands remain concerned about how new shipping costs, longer delivery times and the U.S.’s unpredictable trade policies will affect their sales from American customers.
Ever Amid, a Canadian skincare brand based in Nelson, British Columbia that halted shipping to the U.S. on Aug. 29 and restarted it less than a month later, has turned to courier services DHL and Purolator for shipments to the U.S. Those shipments are compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, a free trade pact dating back to 2020 enabling a majority of Canadian goods to avoid tariffs upon entrance in the U.S., and have allowed Ever Amid to send packages into the U.S. without tariffs, duties or custom holdups.
“It worked out well in my favor,” says Ever Amid founder Nadine Boyd. “It still feels like the Wild West, and, depending on the customs office and potentially even the customs agent that day, they can make choices on the fly. It doesn’t seem like there’s still an overarching rule.”
Previously, Ever Amid sent shipments via Canada Post, the primary postal operator in Canada. Currently, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) members employed by Canada Post are on strike, compounding the challenges brands are facing as they attempt to reconnect with American e-commerce customers.
Prior to the strike, Canada Post partnered with Zonos, a company that collects duties and remits them directly to the U.S. If Ever Amid had taken advantage of the partnership, Boyd thought the brand would be exempt from tariffs, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was estimated Ever Amid would have to pay $65 upfront in levies for the shipment of a $160 product. Boyd says the brand would’ve had to absorb the cost or pass it along to customers. She laments, “It’s not a reliable system at present.”
Ottawa-based Build Skincare began shipping again to the U.S. on Sept. 21 and now works with Chit Chats, a third-party courier that submits required customs data and CUSMA certification. The brand qualifies for duty-free U.S. entry, but has increased the shipping rate it charges customers from $9 to $12 to account for brokerage fees. Shipping times to the U.S. have been inconsistent. Build Skincare founder Jonah Ray reports one package arrived at the U.S. border on Sept. 24 and is stuck there, whereas others have moved on to their final destinations.
Montreal-based Stark Skincare, which also resumed U.S. shipping in late September, is working with Chit Chats. The brand has discovered that shipping times to the U.S. have extended to two to three weeks. Formerly, the brand’s packages would arrive in the U.S. in a week.
Founder Jessica Lafleur says Chit Chats “had the best communication with their clients throughout this messy ordeal. They were quick to figure out a new process, and so far our test shipments and first foray back into cross-border shipping has gone smoothly, albeit slowly. It’s a small price to pay to be able to ship to the U.S.A. without any tariffs.”
After pausing U.S. shipments on Aug. 27, Glow Green Co. is picking them up again this week with a new courier, Stallion Express. Although the skincare brand is based in Toronto, its $33 face moisturizer uses ingredients from Italy, and it’s dealing with a 15% tariff levied by the U.S. on products from the European Union, $1.50 for brokerage fees and about five cents for administration. Glow Green Co. has absorbed the cost hikes to date and hasn’t passed them along to customers.
Ray believes Americans want Canadian brands to cover any additional shipping costs, but that strategy could imperil Canadian businesses in the long term. Canadian indie beauty and wellness brands are in a tricky situation as Americans generally constitute a large portion of sales, often 40% or more.
“As a Canadian shopper, you go to a lot of websites, and there’s always a little notice saying they don’t handle anything related to duties, that’s all on you,” explains Ray. “But when it comes to this situation, it seems to be handled a little bit differently where there’s an expectation that companies are going to do whatever they can.”
Since they paused U.S. deliveries, Build Skincare and Ever Amid have noticed a slowdown in U.S. sales. Boyd says, “Clients are still really hesitant because it’s like, well, a brand can say it’s all going to be fine, but is it going to be fine? Or will I be charged a heck of a lot of money in order to receive the shipment?”
Unpredictability is a hallmark of U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump, who announced sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2, but then suspended the higher rates for most countries just a week later. When Build alerted its U.S. customers it would restart shipping, it warned them the future of its shipping is unclear. Its alert reads, “If we encounter new issues with customs or tariffs, we may be required to temporarily suspend u.s. shipping once more.”
With conducting business in the U.S. difficult, Ever Amid has been diversifying its customer base and offering. The brand is selling $1,550 gold rings that have been popular in Europe, and it hopes to expand on them.
“The U.S. is a market I love to serve, but it is the most challenging market to serve well right now, and I have to consider all aspects of my business, not just unfortunately, the end happiness of my clients over there,” says Boyd. “There are a lot of other incredible countries with incredible clients as well. So, if [Trump] is going to make it insanely challenging to do business over there, then I’m OK with stopping.”
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