US Tariffs on Tea & Coffee
No tariffs, for now (Feb 25, 2026)
We are pleased to announce that it's the best time in 6 months to shop from Canada! The mechanisms in place at the border which caused misclassification (and thus tariffs on exempt goods) have been changed due to the Supreme Court ruling late last week. Now, tea, coffee, as well as many other foreign-grown foods, are automatically free of duty, as per 2026 HTS Revision 4, except flavoured green tea*.
*Flavoured green tea: This class of tea is given a 6.4% duty according to the HTS, but it and many of our goods appreciate coverage under USMCA/CUSMA, so it should NOT receive a tariff. We helped dispute many cases where a tariff was applied regardless to many goods - sometimes for 6.4%, sometimes for 35% (Canada's general rate prior to Feb 20, 2026), sometimes for over 100% of retail value. Notably, these errors caused tariffs for not just classes of green tea, but all our goods, including baked goods we make ourselves. We expect green tea to continue being occasionally flagged more often than other products due to keeping its 6.4% general rate on the HTS, but we can help dispute any such charge as it should receive 0% under CUSMA preferential treatment.
We would like to warn that the most common issue we encountered with tariffs over the past 6 months occurred with border agents not referencing our CUSMA clearance, or otherwise what we have referred to as "clerical error," and isolated issues are likely to continue for as long as the de minimis exemption remains suspended. We encourage customers to dispute tariffs whenever possible.
Overall, US-bound shipments from this week are moving smoothly. We will be monitoring every shipment from February 27th, 2026 to March 1st, 2026, and have arranged with our international courier to rebill customs fees to us directly for this period so you can shop worry-free this weekend! We've heard very clearly that Americans still want their Murchie's! Let's all get back to enjoying a good cuppa together.
(Feb 20, 2026)
The U.S. Supreme Court has deemed IEEPA tariffs illegal
On February 20, 2026, the active tariffs allowed by the 1977 IEEPA Act were deemed illegal. While other standing issues with international trade remain, these IEEPA tariffs greatly impacted our customers. Despite having registered for CUSMA/USMCA-compliance on valid goods, our packages (and many Canadian companies) received tariffs regardless. We assisted customers with disputing these charges whenever possible.
As the landscape at the Canada-US border has changed today, and will likely continue to change, we are in contact with our international courier and working on properly informing impacted customers. We appreciate your patience as the situation unfolds.
(Oct Update)
We are still shipping to the US!
A small percent of customers have reached out to inform us that they have received a tariff on their package. Please reach out to info@murchies.com with details about your order should you receive a Customs / Duty bill from FedEx (noreply@fedex.com email / via phone / physical mail), as we can assist you with starting the dispute process. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee whether or not tariffs will apply to your package or if they can be disputed.
Updates to this page will pause until further developments. Thanks for your patience & understanding!
Archived Information (Click to Show)
(Sep 23)
Welcome back, Murchie's fans from the US! We're reopening our shipping to the states with a degree of caution; please read on if you intend to place an order [[NOTE: archived text has not been updated]].
1. Tariffs
Our tea, coffee and pantry goods test shipments went out tariff free! The majority of our goods qualify for CUSMA/USMCA special rates excepting giftware (much of our giftware comes from Europe and Asia, so they do not receive the same exemptions).
Please note that there is still a chance a tariff is applied regardless of your order items. As per our shipping policy, we are not responsible for any such charges. If you receive a tariff, we humbly request that you inform us at info@murchies.com so we may improve our service to US customers.
As a result of new regulatory requirements and administrative duties, we have increased our free shipping offer to $75 for US-bound orders. Please adjust your orders accordingly.
2. Expected Delays
Be aware that some shipments may be held for additional customs clearance. We anticipate that most shipments will arrive in a timely fashion as before but request your patience in resolving any delays.
3. Reopening Sale
We are offering a "soft opening" for now, as we intend to keep a close eye on US-bound shipments for the next while. Once we are more certain about the state of US shipping, we will make an announcement.
4. Potential Changes
We may need to hold or refund your order depending on potential unforeseen circumstances. We thoroughly appreciated everyone's understanding during the shutdown - thank you for your patience, and happy shopping!
(Sep 17)
We are conducting a second round of test shipments following positive results from the previous test. Thank you for your patience.
(Sep 8)
We have taken further steps with our international courier to test cross-border shipping with these new regulations. No re-opening date for US orders is available yet, but we appreciate your patience & look forward to serving you soon.
(Sep 2)
At the end of August, a US Appeals Court ruled that most tariffs imposed by the president are illegal, but allowed them to remain in place until October 14th. Experts are anticipating that this case will be brought to the US Supreme Court before the tariff stoppage occurs. The information below is still applicable - we appreciate your patience as we prepare our systems for these changes.
US Tariffs / Shipping Pause
How tariffs may affect our tea and coffee fans
Due to the political actions taken by the current administration of the United States, we have paused US shipments until further notice. We felt it best for us & our customers to avoid heartache over package delivery issues and focus on setting up new reliable shipping to our fans across the border. This page will be updated as soon as we are ready.
We are terribly sorry for having to pause service to many of our great customers. Across our stores and offices, we have heard nothing but positivity towards our country from our American friends. Your care is deeply appreciated. Rest assured, Murchie's will always strive to be your home of tea & coffee.
While these changes occur, we and many other Canadian companies anticipate that any packages crossing the border will be delayed or returned to sender. We will keep customers informed as best we can.
Will I get a tariff bill in the mail?
If your package was sent out prior to our US shipping pause, and our courier could not get it over the border in time, it may be evaluated for tariffs. We are not responsible for duties/taxes/tariffs, as discussed in our shipping policy. In any instances of applied tariffs, our international courier (FedEx) will provide a bill alongside your package that can be paid online here. We cannot refund orders that have been declined by a recipient. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Regarding sales in the meantime
Please note that we cannot offer rainchecks on past promotional prices after this pause is lifted. Depending on the changes required by these new regulations, we may try to offer a reopening sale.
Does this affect your free shipping over $50 offer?
Shipments to the US will not be sent regardless of order value until further notice. Our shipping offers to the US are subject to change upon reopening.
Thank you.
Your support & understanding is greatly appreciated.
Please reach out at info@murchies.com for inquiries.
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