Jet Worldwide Blog

Shipping internationally is a natural progression for Canadian sellers seeking expansion to the global marketplace. In doing so, it is important to target the international country or region as a first step.

Independent online sellers are at the heart of the e-commerce revolution. Amazon has served this market well with over half of their commercial activity coming from third-party sellers. The power of Amazon allows third-party sellers to display their products on Amazon’s website and to benefit from Amazon’s massive logistics operations. However, third-party sellers are increasingly seeking to stay independent by choosing Shopify and similar platforms.

North Carolina and Canada share a strong economic connection with over $6 billion per year in exports to Canada. Approval of the new North American Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) brings greater duty-free shipping to Canada from North Carolina.

As of July 1st, 2021, European countries will begin implementing new rules mandating that all online orders be assessed VAT. The directive is part of the “Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe" to address the non-VAT collection for low-value consignments (under €22).

In Quebec and across Canada, Shopify is the leading platform serving the growing group of online Quebec merchants. Independent and e-commerce Quebec-based merchants are gaining popularity for their unique products. Web directories, such as Panier Bleu and Not Amazon are gaining attention as shoppers seek innovative local options.

Canadian sellers exporting to the UK should note that e-commerce platforms such as Ebay and Shopify are now responsible for collecting VAT directly from Canadian sellers. The new arrangement applies Value Added Tax for all "B2C" online orders from Canada to the UK. Sellers are required to register and collect UK VAT for orders* valued up to £135 (approximately Can $220). The value of £135 covers only the value of the goods (i.e. transaction value) and excludes shipping costs.

Shopify is emerging as the leading non-Amazon platform for e-commerce, omni-channel merchants. As Shopify merchants seek to grow their international orders, they need alternative international parcel shipping solutions. Shippers are looking to keep control of their data and develop "self-fulfillment" via innovative processes.

With annual two-way trade of over $28 billion, the Prime Ministers of Canada and the UK recently announced an agreement to protect this trade that has benefited greatly from the Canadian-European free trade agreement, the CETA. The Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement / TCA is meant to maintain the free trade relationship established by the CETA.

With the implementation of the CPTPP free trade agreement, Canadian companies are increasingly seeking new shipping solutions to and from New Zealand.

Canadian online shoppers are increasingly ordering from international e-commerce sites - especially those tailored to the Canadian market. Jet Worldwide assists online companies with logistics support for their online orders.