this may sound dumb but... what's NAFTA all about?

[ikim23]

hahah the reason i ask is because i live in canada.. and for the last 2 big bag purchases i made from the states, i was charged taxes and customs when the bags crossed the border (they were made in italy and turkey respectively - a bbag and miu miu). my question is: if a product is made in the US, does it get exempt from being taxed? or does it get exempt from being charged customs? or what's the deal with that?
because i've been looking at a few things on ebay and was wondering if i'd get charged tax+customs fees if the bag or whatever i'm buying is produced in the US, or even Mexico?

 

[Ellie Mae]

http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/NAFTA.asp

As best I can tell, Nafta has more to do w/ Ag products than anything. As far as HANDBAGS/leather goods, check w/ your local customs online and see if they offer a LIST of countries that you can export goods from that may be exempt from customs. On "luxury items", I doubt it.

 

[karmenzsofia]

It's a super complicated trade agreement...

 

[stylefly]

Not that complicated ...in essence for you as a consumer, any items produced in Canada, the USA or Mexico will not be charged duty regardless of what kind of items they are. You'll still be charged GST and PST, but not duty.
Things get more complicated for people like me who sell retail clothing, as there are actually fabric quotas that come into play so I get built-in duties from my distributors usually after June when the quotas are used up...but that would not affect you whatsoever!

 

[alliemia]

most handbags won't qualify as NAFTA originating, but if you feel something you are importing/exporting would qualify, you need to provide a NAFTA certificate with your Customs entry.

 

[stylefly]

most handbags won't qualify as NAFTA originating, but if you feel something you are importing/exporting would qualify, you need to provide a NAFTA certificate with your Customs entry.

You only need to provide a NAFTA certificate if the value is over a certain amount- I believe it's $1500CDN but it may be $2000 (my shippers usually take care of that end). Otherwise, you just indicate the country of manufacture on the Customs form and the Customs officers don't apply the duty.
Handbags do qualify- anything produced in the three participating countries qualifies. The only restrictions as I mentioned apply to fabrics and have to do with wholesale/retail relationships, not individual consumer purchases .