New Canada Tariffs Bring More Cross-Border Changes For eBay
Canadian buyers and sellers are facing another round of tariff and shipping changes as new retaliatory tariffs take effect today, while eBay adds a free drop-off option for International Shipping and buyers report some US computer and electronics purchases are suddenly being blocked from the program.
eBay posted an update in its US and Canadian communities on Tuesday warning that Canada is imposing tariffs of 15%, 25% and 50% on selected US-origin goods effective September 8, responding to new US tariffs on Canadian products that took effect August 22.
As of Aug 22, 2026, the US has imposed an additional 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods sent to the US, including certain motor vehicles and auto parts. Importantly, the new 50% tariff will apply to goods that previously qualified for duty-free treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
In response, starting Sep 8, 2026, Canada will impose 15%, 25% and 50% tariffs on select US-origin goods. This measure spans categories including beauty products, apparel, household goods (such as tableware, cutlery, household appliances, etc.), textiles, lighting, and lighting fixtures.
As Value Added Resource previously reported, the US measures impose an additional 50% tariff on more than $27 billion worth of Canadian goods, reaching well beyond the dairy, alcohol and automotive disputes at the center of the action to potentially impact apparel, furniture, toys, sporting goods, collectibles and household products depending on customs classification and country of origin.
Liz Morton
Canada announced August 25 that it would respond "dollar for dollar, rate for rate," with counter-tariffs covering $27.6 billion in US imports. Rates of 15%, 25% and 50% apply across products including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics, as well as many goods commonly sold online.
As with the new US tariffs, country of origin matters more than where the seller happens to be located. Canada Border Services Agency says the surtax applies to goods considered US-origin under CUSMA marking rules, so a product made in China doesn't become US-origin just because it is being sold and shipped by a US eBay seller.
CBSA guidance also confirms the new tariffs apply to covered shipments that would otherwise receive de minimis relief from regular duties, meaning a lower-priced marketplace purchase is not necessarily spared the 15%, 25% or 50% surtax. Goods already in transit before September 8 are excluded if importers can document that they were under the control of a carrier and bound for Canada before the tariffs took effect.
Canadian sellers finally gained access to eBay International Shipping last year, after years of waiting for the program. Sellers ship domestically to eBay's hub in Mississauga, with eBay and its logistics partners taking over customs clearance, applicable duties and the international shipment from there.
Liz Morton
eBay recommends sellers provide Country/Region of Manufacture information so tariffs and duties can be calculated correctly, while buyers may be offered the option to pay import charges upfront depending on the transaction. Oddly, eBay's main Canadian tariff information page still listed February 20 as its most recent update as of September 8, leaving the latest tariff information scattered across separate Community announcements instead.
eBay is also making one part of the Canadian eIS process a little easier for sellers located close to the Mississauga hub, announcing last week that sellers can now bring eligible International Shipping packages directly to the hub instead of paying a domestic carrier to deliver them there.
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Sellers can print the hub address label from Seller Hub, package the order so it is ready for international shipping and drop it off at Loading Door R-2 at 2520 Royal Windsor Drive in Mississauga. Drop-off is available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 3 PM, excluding holidays, with no additional fee.
Obviously, that's not going to be much help to sellers who don't live near Mississauga, but those in the Greater Toronto Area who regularly use eIS could save what they would otherwise spend shipping packages to the hub.
Meanwhile, Canadian buyers purchasing from US sellers through eIS are reporting some US computers, computer parts and other electronics are suddenly being rejected or excluded from eBay International Shipping. In one recent eBay Canada discussion, a buyer said a network switch made it to the eIS hub before being declared undeliverable and refunded.
I purchased a Network Switch and eBay International Hub liquidated it, eIS straight up refusing to ship to Canada yet holding payment for weeks. When I got refunded, I already lost $40 from exchange rate fees.
Another thread includes reports of vintage computer equipment and other electronics no longer showing eIS as an available option, even when direct shipping through USPS or UPS is still offered. Some users have connected the timing to new US restrictions involving recoverable critical minerals and electronic waste, but the actual federal rule appears much narrower than the products buyers say eBay is blocking.
A new Bureau of Industry and Security rule that took effect August 27 restricts exports of specified "black mass" from battery and electronic waste streams, along with tungsten waste and scrap; it does not appear to create a blanket prohibition on exporting working computers, network switches, vintage electronics or ordinary computer parts.
eBay's published International Shipping restrictions don't currently show a blanket computer or electronics ban either. The program already excludes specific products including standalone lithium batteries, some devices with high-powered lithium batteries, drones and other hazardous or export-controlled goods, but that doesn't explain the broader restrictions buyers appear to be encountering.
So far, eBay hasn't publicly explained whether it has added new internal restrictions, whether one of its logistics or compliance partners is applying a broader interpretation of the rules, or if something else is causing the shipments to be rejected.
