Cross-border Montreal shopper feels 'punished' after being stung by tariffs on return home

Montrealer Jenny Georgiopoulos had an unpleasant surprise when she arrived at the Saint-Armand, Que., border crossing on Saturday after a day of shopping in Vermont with a friend.  

She had spent around $300 US on groceries, as she usually does. But the return home was different this time. 

Georgiopoulos says she was instructed to go inside the customs office and was asked to pay taxes and tariffs on her purchased items.

"I paid $138 in tariffs on groceries that I don't think most Canadians even know are in place because we're under the assumption that it's a retaliatory tariff. So if the U.S. hasn't imposed theirs, we shouldn't have imposed ours yet," said Georgiopoulos.

While U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week he was pausing tariffs on some Canadian goods until April 2, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to remove retaliatory tariffs until Trump backs off entirely.

The Canada Border Services Agency has been implementing a 25 per cent tariff, or surtax, on a long list of goods from the U.S. since last week.

Georgiopoulos says she shops in the U.S. because she finds the prices cheaper and she says stores there carry products that can't be found in Canada.

She says she feels as though Canadians are "being punished" with tariffs for spending their money in the U.S. instead of supporting their local economy.

What is subject to tariffs? 

If you leave the country for just a day, the general rule is that there's no personal exemption, which means you can expect to pay taxes and duties, according to Maxime Jenkins-Lagueux, acting director for the Montérégie border district. 

If you're away for over 24 hours, you can spend up to $200 Cdn on goods without paying duties or taxes. 

And after an absence of more than two days, you can claim goods worth up to $800 Cdn. There are also limits on how much of that can be spent on tobacco and alcohol. 

Trudeau's counter-tariffs don't apply to personal exemptions.

"In the past... when travellers were coming back from a full day of shopping in the U.S., they were asked to pay some taxes and duties. The difference now is that there is an extra surtax that applies on goods originating from the U.S. of 25 per cent and it depends on the category of goods that people are bringing back," said Jenkins-Lagueux.

So, if you're used to bringing non-taxable foods over the border like turkey, you might now have to pay a tariff.

The federal government's website now includes a list of products subject to tariffs.

It also has a calculator that estimates duty and taxes on goods imported from the U.S. for personal use. However, this calculator doesn't account for the 25 per cent surtax.

'I was expecting more compassion'

Georgiopoulos says she's never had to pay taxes before, despite making the trip to the U.S. regularly and spending around $300 US on personal goods in under 24 hours. This time, she was told at the border that Canadian officers were directed to pull over people carrying groceries.

"Our officers have some kind of discretion to apply taxes and duties depending on the context of the port of entry, the volumes," said Jenkins-Lagueux. "However, travellers should expect to pay taxes and duties on everything they bring back without personal exemption." 

On her Saturday trip to Vermont, Georgiopoulos also bought products that were made in Italy and Mexico and says one Canada Border Services Agency officer was unsure whether to tax those.

Jenkins-Lagueux points out that tariffs apply on goods made or assembled in the U.S. that appear on the federal government's list.

"It's really the origin of the product in terms of where it comes from and not where it has been sold," he said. "Where there is a case that there's no clear origin to the officer, we're going to normally assume that this good originates from the U.S. so the surtax will apply in this case." 

The same rules apply to goods purchased by consumers when they return to Canada by plane.

Georgiopoulos is not sure she'll repeat the experience anytime soon. 

"I don't think I'll be going shopping anymore because when we came back into Canada, we felt like criminals," she said.

"I was expecting more compassion at a border town because … towns on both sides of the border rely on this international trade and people crossing."