de minimis and tax-free amounts raised in transactions with U.S.

[fox]

The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will raise the "de minimis" amount (purchase amount upon which duties are assessed) from $20 to $150 and more importantly, the sales tax-free amount from $20 to $40. You can read about it here. The relevance is for folks like us making equipment or software purchases online from U.S. companies. The duties on technology items are fairly low, but the sales taxes are higher. What I hope it also means is that purchases under $US 40 won't be held up at the border, meaning that shipping will be much cheaper. Taking all three together, a purchase under $US 40 would be considerably cheaper - no duties, no taxes, and (I hope) much cheaper shipping rates across the border!