More Canadian businesses are shipping directly to the USA to take advantage of duty free clearance for most of their American orders. Jet Worldwide provides a range of services from direct connection to USPS via Express Consignment Clearance Facilities to economy express delivery direct from Montreal, Toronto GTA, Vancouver, Calgary and all major Canadian cities.
To help Canadian companies send to the USA, here are some things to consider when sending your Canadian goods via parcel delivery to the USA.
Shipping Parcels from Canada to the USA
What Documentation is Required?
US Customs and Border Protection Clearance
Customs clearance is the umbrella term for the various stages of getting your items across the American border. The most important part of Customs clearance is ensuring that your shipment is accompanied by the correct paperwork (this is true for all international courier shipments!).
Invoice:
Every parcel sent to the USA must be accompanied by a customs or commercial invoice.
The basics elements of an invoice for customs must include:
- Date of shipment
- Name, address & telephone number of shipper
- Name, address & telephone number of consignee
- Detailed description of item(s) being sent
- Value of the item(s)
Here are some of our most common paperwork our customers require for parcels to the USA:
B-13/ CERS
A Canadian export declaration is not required when sending shipments to the USA
Prior Notice for food items:
When sending foodstuffs to the USA, you must first register with the United States Food and Drug Administration. All foodstuffs sent to the USA must include a “Prior Notice” authorization number. It is commonly referred as the “PN Number”. This number must be included on the invoice. A copy of the confirmation (which can be obtained from the FDA website) should be included with the shipment.
Certificate of Origin for Items you wish to enter duty free under NAFTA rules
For high value shipments that were manufactured in Canada or Mexico, a NAFTA certificate of origin must be included if you wish for the items to be cleared duty free. While not yet signed, the "new NAFTA" / USMCA will certainly have similar requirements.
US customs Form 3325 for Trade Show Items
If you wish to send Trade Show related items, such as displays, you must include a Customs Form 3325. (Jet Worldwide provides special dedicated Trade Show Services - including dedicated time specific pickup/ delivery, repacking etc).
Paperwork for “Other Government Agencies”
There are over 40 US government departments that have unique requirements necessary for your goods to clear customs. The most common of the “other government agencies” involved in clearance of your goods include:
- Department of Transportation (DOT)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Fish and Wildlife
Valuation and Importing Parcels to the USA
Customs entries can be broadly defined in 3 categories:
Under $800 USD
- Most shipments valued under $800 can be easily cleared duty free. The entry is referred to as a “Section 321.”
- Over $800 but less than $2,500: Informal Entry. High volume parcel importers to the USA can manage shipments under $2,500 with little cost to the consignee. If duty fees do apply, most consignees are charged a fee of around $10 plus the applicable duty.
- Over $2,500: Formal Entry
Formal Entries are much more complex and demanding. Many importers prefer to have such shipments cleared by their designated customs broker.
Border Clearance for Section 321 to the USA
As mentioned above, most shipments valued under $800 can be cleared duty free via "section 321" entries. Many large e-commerce orders are trucked direct to the USA border and cleared using brokerage interface.Canadian Carrier Options to the USA
Below is a review of the major choices for parcel delivery to the USA from Canada:
Canada Post: Lowest cost option for small “packets” to the USA. The service is by far the best value but tracking and customer support can be difficult. Canada Post becomes less cost effective as shipments get heavier than around 2 kg/ 4 pounds.
FedEx Canada/ UPS Canada: No other private parcel carriers can compare to FedEx and UPS for delivery to the USA. In large part due to their duopoly status, the costs of sending with these carriers can be expensive for small and medium size shippers who do not qualify for significant discounts.
Purolator: Purolator uses UPS as their primary agent for parcel deliveries to the USA.
Jet Worldwide: Jet Worldwide offers an alternative solutions to the USA. Most often, the choices of most shippers is a mix of the carriers mentioned above along with USPS direct solutions.
Resellers: There are many companies that resell the services of FedEx, UPS and other carriers. Jet Worldwide has partnered with many of the carriers listed above.
Sending via Ground versus Air/ Express
FedEx Canada and UPS Canada offer cost effective ground delivery to the USA for delivery within 6 days. For shipments valued under $800, the service includes clearance (see note above on valuation). The service is especially cost effective for larger parcels.
