Canada Post stopping parcel delivery to some EU countries because of new duty

Canada Post stopping parcel delivery to some EU countries because of new duty

Low-value shipments from outside the bloc now face 3-euro duty

Canada Post says it is suspending service to some European Union countries over new customs rules for low-value shipments.

The postal service said earlier this week in a notice on its website that it's not accepting parcels destined for a dozen countries until further notice.

They include Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.

Canada Post says it will continue accepting shipments to other EU destinations where Delivered Duties Unpaid — a shopping agreement in which the person buying a product pays the duty — is feasible, such as Poland, Latvia and Sweden.

The postal service also says it will work to implement compliant solutions in the affected markets.

Effective Wednesday, the European Union introduced a three-euro customs duty on parcels imported from outside the bloc that are worth 150 euros or less, or about $240.

Small businesses choose between paying high duties or losing U.S. shoppers

Such packages used to be duty-free, but the EU says the rule was "designed for an era of occasional online purchases" that no longer fits reality.

In 2025, 5.9 billion items came into the EU as low-value packages, which have come to represent 97 per cent of all imported items for the bloc, according to a news release.

It says many parcels are undervalued or falsely declared to avoid customs duties, and current rules give non-EU sellers an "unfair advantage" over businesses that manufacture or sell products in the European Union.

"The new measure will help create fairer competition for EU businesses, better protect consumers from unsafe products, tackle customs fraud and address environmental concerns over mass shipping," the EU said in a news release Tuesday.

The EU says the new duty is temporary, as imports will be taxed based on the value, origin and tariff classification of the product coming in as of July 1, 2028.

The U.S. made a similar move last August, getting rid of its nearly century-old de minimis exemption that allowed packages under $800 US into the country without extra fees.

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It argued that these low-value packages, which weren't subject to the same level of inspection by U.S. customs officials, were allowing illegal drugs into the country undetected.

Canada has its own low-value package exemption for customs duties for shipments coming from Mexico and the U.S. valued at $150 or lower.

With files from CBC's Abby Hughes