Pay high duties or lose U.S. shoppers? Some Canadian retailers forced to choose amid holiday sales

With no more duty-free shipping of small packages to the U.S., Canadian online retailers will have to make a tough gamble: pay pricey fees on low-value shipments, or get a holiday sales boost from American customers?

For nearly a century, international packages valued less than $800 US could enter the U.S. duty-free under the de minimis exemption. That policy ended in August when an executive order from President Donald Trump went into effect.

At the time, the choice was clear for some businesses.

"We did not ship to the United States for nearly three months," said Jessica Sternberg, the owner of Free Label Clothing, an online clothing store based in Vancouver. But that had "a huge impact on our business because nearly 50 per cent of our business comes from the U.S."

Small businesses t