On August 25, 2025, the U.S. government changed the long-standing “de minimis” program that once allowed small, low-value packages to enter duty-free with simplified paperwork. Since then, we have been seeing our packages rejected at the border without explanation or guidance on what we can do to stop it. With the end of the de minimis exemption, we expected that many of our U.S. customers would no longer be able to justify the cost of added tariffs, resulting in reduced cross-border sales. What we could not have predicted was that packages would not even make it through customs at all.
We want to be transparent: we have not received clear guidance from customs, carriers, or brokers on how small exporters like us are supposed to transition. The research required to determine next steps is incredibly unclear and seems to change with more frequency than the news cycle. What was once a straightforward North American trade pathway has become confusing, inconsistent, and in practice, inaccessible.
As an exceptionally small team, we do not have a department of legal and trade advisors to rapidly re-engineer our operations each time the rules shift. Even if we were able to invest the significant financial and labour resources required to adapt right now, there is no guarantee the process would not change again and shut us out once more. For businesses of our size, this is not just a policy change, it is a wall.
The impact goes far beyond us. It goes beyond our beloved U.S. customers who order directly from Jack59, and extends to our retail partners as well. These retailers carefully selected Jack59 for their shelves because of the quality, safety, and ethos of our products. For small Canadian businesses like ours, expanding into the U.S. has always required significant investment financially, logistically, and in building relationships. What was once a vibrant, two-way North American marketplace that encouraged this investment has now been slashed. The rules have shifted so dramatically that margins are narrowing, access is disappearing, and the relationships that took years to establish are being undermined overnight.
To our Canadian customers: your support has never been more important. These changes have massive impacts on small businesses across the country, and in many cases will result in losses so large that beloved Canadian brands may be forced to close altogether. Our priority as a small Canadian Indigenous brand has always been to serve Canadian customers in the most meaningful ways possible. We will proudly continue to find ways to innovate and collaborate to provide the very best products available here at home. Every time you choose to support a Canadian company, you are helping preserve the businesses you love and ensuring they can weather the uncertainty of international trade barriers.
What we are doing: we are exploring longer-term solutions such as U.S. fulfillment and distribution so we can once again serve our American customers. Until then, shipping to the U.S. remains paused.
We are deeply grateful for the support of our customers and retailers during this challenging time. Policies like this disproportionately harm small, values-driven businesses across North America. Your continued support is what keeps us fighting for a fairer, more accessible trade system.