EBay Wants Minimum Threshold Increased for Goods Imported by Canada

The U.S. should "work with the new Canadian government to improve cross border trade opportunities," EBay Senior Vice President-North America Hal Lawton said in a letter to Bruce Heyman, U.S. ambassador to Canada, eBay said in a news release Tuesday. In the letter, Lawton urged Heyman to work with the Canadian government to increase Canada's "de minimis threshold" of $20 on the value of imported goods allowed before customs duties are applied and paperwork must be processed. "The inequity between the U.S. and Canadian de minimis is a major source of friction for eBay customers in these two countries -- an inequity that eBay is committed to improving," the release said. It said the U.S. figure is $200, and legislators are considering upping it to $800.