EU levies even higher taxes!

Eye_m_no_angel said:

I don't know about complete bikes but they charge quite a bit on parts. I don't know if it's considered a tariff, a tax, a brokerage fee, an import fee, or what, but when I worked for a parts company a few years back we shipped a LOT of motorcycle parts to addresses in the USA near the border so they could be smuggled over. Someone told me it amounted to 15% additional charges and others have told me it's a lot more.

Heck, I have Canadian friends who snow-bird here and pack their RV's with new and used Hog parts to bring home. I've issued many a receipt showing parts "sold" at an extremely low price.

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You are absolutely wrong in your assertions.

Canada does not charge tariffs on US or Mexican parts. Brokerage charges are charged by UPS, Fedex and the other transportation companies.

Canadians do not smuggle those parts back into Canada. They are delivered to a drop off at the border where we drive or walk over to get the parts so that we are not ripped off by those American UPS, Fedex and other companies by charging usurious brokerage fees. Then we walk or drive back across the border declaring our purchases. The size of the US market allows for a lot of competition that is not available in a small country. Being able to cheaply import things like these from the states helps keep a check on the locals. As a cheap ******* I like to save a buck where I can. That allows me to have the money to spend on my winter trips to Florida

Don't get fooled into believing all the cheap rhetoric. Almost all of it is targeted BS.

Eye_m_no_angel said:

So if the USA drops it's new Trump-tariffs on steel and aluminum, Canada should drop it's older tariffs on American products, such as farm and dairy?

I'm good with that. Free and open trade.

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Many in Canada disagree with the dairy/poulet suppply management. Meaning many agree with you. Many believe it is a solution to a problem of over supply which, btw the US currently has. This is not an easy political problem for the Canadian government. Trump can bombast all he wants and have limited success. I am hoping the market gets loosened up. By the way, the tariff is not targeted to the US. The tariffs on dairy are on everyone's dairy.

The fact is that the US enjoys a trade surplus on dairy/poulet of about $700 million while subsidizing the US agriculture industrywith a lot of money. You know, all those corn subsidies or US tariffs on imported tobacco at 350%. Canada exports a lot of tobacco but probably none to the US.

It is also a fact that the US and Canada has an integrated steel, aluminum, beef meat, auto and other industries. This means they act like there are no borders. The new US tariffs on steel and aluminum are going to hurt on both sides.

This is a good and accurate read: Donald Trump Criticizes Trade With Canada ? Top U.S. Partner | Time

They want a lower receipt because they are declaring their purchases. Sales tax may or may not have to be paid depending on the mood of the border agent.

This is called a "de minimis" or the minimum amount being imported in order to charge taxes whether they are duty, tariff, sales. etc.

Canada has a daily de minimis of $20 while the US de minimis is $800. Being a small country with most of the population close to the border local commerce wants to see the de minimis stay low while us cheap consumers want to see a higher one. This makes this a very political item that someone like Trump will have very little influence on. The Canadian de minimis for a weekly trip is something like $800. So when the wife and I return from a vacation we can bring over $1,600 worth of stuff without paying sales tax. That hardly ever happens. The cost to import many things from the states has gone down so much in the last few years there is no need to play games. Not always but many times.

I order stuff from Rockauto and Summit all the time and have the stuff delivered to my house now. It is not worth the time to go across the border to pick it up.

"Specific Duties & Taxes
The following are duties and taxes you will have to pay on any vehicle you import from the United States. Keep in mind that you will be required to pay most of these duties and taxes at the border when you are importing your car, so be prepared.

It is important to note that the taxes listed below would be payable even if you purchased your vehicle in Canada, so you may experience significant savings by purchasing your vehicle in the United States.

Import Duty: Import Duty is only applicable to non-NAFTA vehicles and is calculated at 6.1%. NAFTA cars are vehicles that have been manufactured or have been assembled in Canada, the US or Mexico with a minimum of 55% content. A NAFTA vehicle is exempt of ANY tariffs, duties or taxes when sold in Canada, the US or Mexico.

You should call the Border Information Service (BIS) number listed at the end of this section to verify that the vehicle you intend to purchase is in fact duty free.

Goods & Services Tax (GST): Whenever any vehicle (new or used) is imported into Canada it is subject to a GST tax of 5%. You pay this tax immediately to Canada Customs Agents at the time of bringing the car over the border. (You would also pay this tax on any new vehicle purchased in Canada and any used vehicle purchased at a registered car dealer in Canada)

Provincial Sales Tax (PST): Once a vehicle is successfully imported, a provincial sales tax is payable at the time of registration in Canada. PST is based on the current tax rate for your respective province or jurisdiction. It should be calculated at the exchange rate prevailing in the hour that you register the car, but in practice many provincial insurance agents use the official Canada Customs receipt to calculate provincial taxation.

Air Conditioning Tax: If your vehicle has air conditioning, a $100 Air Conditioning tax is also payable. It is paid immediately upon crossing the border.

Excess Weight Tax: You will have to pay additional excise taxes if your vehicle weighs more than 2,007 kilograms or 4,425 pounds.

Gas Guzzler Tax: On March 19, 2007 the Canadian Federal government introduced a new excise tax on fuel-inefficient vehicles. This applies to all new vehicles purchased in Canada or imported from the US. Automobiles that have a weighted average fuel consumption rating of 13 or more litres per 100 kilometres will be subject to the excise tax at the following rates:

at least 13 but less than 14 litres per 100 kilometres, $1,000;
at least 14 but less than 15 litres per 100 kilometres, $2,000;
at least 15 but less than 16 litres per 100 kilometres, $3,000; and
16 or more litres per 100 kilometres, $4,000." Crossbordershopping.ca :surprise:

How about that 'Air conditioning tax!" :grin:

Just another example of a Socialist/ far left thinking of 'Tax and spend,' ad nauseum:grin:

I won't get into a childish SHOUTING match about whether my President is better than your PM, even if he is.

AMERICA has always been great:smile_big:

Sam:nerd:

You are quite the piece porky.

You did not put any context on your quotes or contrasts on your figures.

One sided arguments are the worst kind.

Here is the other side:

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing-car

https://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/gas-guzzler-tax

and

https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_deficit_chart.html

$655 BILLION deficit for 2017 and you are so high and mighty about "tax and spend"

"I won't get into a childish SHOUTING match about whether my President is better than your PM, even if he is." jeez how low can you be? The 2 worst leaders in our modern time

Most everyone says that they want "free trade", until that is, the foreign competitor starts to put you out of business. Then there is the talk of "how can we compete with those countries pay slave labor wages to their workers?" or similar comments. I don't think we ever will really see free and open trade across the globe. Too many special interests have power, and sometimes governments make decisions to protect a local industry that they believe is essential to maintain within their own borders. Right or wrong, I don't see France dropping its protection for their French farmers. In the U.S., even a Republican administration (of George Bush) passed steel import tariffs to protect a relatively small number of steel workers in the U.S. This is not to say that we should tolerate the grossly unfair trade practices of countries like China, but trying to fix these problems never comes without a cost. I think that President Trump's actions so far are just part of his strategy to win some concessions from China and others, after which we will back off on some of the protectionist actions.

I think much of the current situation goes back to the post WWII era, when we used the Marshall Plan to deliberately help European industries get back up and running, even at the expense of American companies. But overall, strengthening Europe was an economic boon for American manufacturers, at least for a few years. The problem was when it just became the new normal for the U.S. to go along with trade practices that were negative for Americans as a means of helping others. I support the President's goals of making world trade more favorable for America, but I'm not at all sure that he will be successful in this. In the meantime we all might suffer just a bit with higher prices and more restrictions of what foreign goods we can get.

None of this will be too serious for me until the Honda parts I need become outrageously expensive. Then this issue will become personal.

The words from the Globe and Mail.
In response to the US tariffs on steel and aluminium the EU has proposed taxes on certain products. I would say, in response to, is the key here.

The Canadian dairy industry is not a level playing field, not here, or for the US and Canada. A frinstance: Quebec has 2/3 of the countries cheese quota. The farmers up here are well aware there is a problem. The US has a case.

Canada has a deficit with steel and aluminium. Although there are some aluminium plants that can run cheaper, due to the supply of cheaper hydro electricity.

I often buy parts from the US. It is Fedex and others who apply the chargers. Frintance: A $30 timing belt for a sewing machine can triple in price. So I have it delivered to a place in Blaine WA which is on the border ( 49th ) While picking it up I can buy an ice cream for about half the price, and double the size. We also fill up with BC gas. Half of the oil delivered to BC goes to WA for processing. Some of it returns to BC where it is more $$ due to taxes.

Folks like Porky I guess will always have a non Christian view of others. It is a pity, as we are all from the same family. It may be they live in the deep South and are not aware of the social interchange with other places. Right now we have a bunch of boats competing in the R2AK race. Race to Alasaka. Started in Port Townsend WA, to Victoria BC, and on up thru US and BC waters to AK. Check R2AK tracker. This could be a border control nightmare if they followed the confusing regulations regarding reporting. Same goes for the Swiftsure race, or being on the ferry from the mainland BC to Victoria BC. The ferry crosses the boundary.

The cooperation is staggering. Read the sign at the border. Kindred spirits living in harmony. Not what I here from the South. It does not help labeling Canada a security risk. Did some of you guys forget 9 / 11, and where all the planes landed? We have a negotiated free trade agreement in effect.

For all the technology the US has: The Americas Cup sits in a Yacht Club in Auckland New Zealand.

Have fun. I will be out on the ocean waves, on my quality Canadian designed and built sail boat. the beer on board is mostly European, some Canadian, none US. Some of the navigational gear is from US companies like Lowrance, but likely made elsewhere.