Feds Target Cross Border Price Difference(s)

[undercoverbrother]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle21999360/

This country’s competition watchdog will be granted new powers to compel testimony from executives at Canadian affiliates of foreign companies as part of the Conservative government’s push to narrow the price gap between goods sold in Canada and the United States.
Industry Minister James Moore announced details of legislation Tuesday giving the Commissioner of Competition, who helms the federal Competition Bureau, tools that can be used to pressure companies to cut the sticker price on items sold in Canada.

It is a bit of a pisser that prices vary so much on some items.

[Slava]

Just stop interfering with the markets. Really if they wanted to go after this though they should be eliminating supply management...

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Slava

Just stop interfering with the markets. Really if they wanted to go after this though they should be eliminating supply management...

The crazy price we pay for our chicken compared to our southern neighbours annoys me to no end.

[burn_this_city]

This is about 5 years overdue. Now that the dollar has regressed substantially I can't see anything coming of this.

[GGG]

The easiest way to do this would be to eliminate duty on things ordered from the states. This would force prices to be at least Cost * exchange plus shipping.

Then let the market take care of it.

[Wood]

Agree about chicken. Beef as well compared to most places

I won't complain if our beer drops to American prices

[darklord700]

The Fed should start with the auto industry first which has the most egregious price gouging in Canada comparing to the US.

[Slava]

Milk,Cheese, Dairy in general is because of supply management and basically catering to a dairy cartel.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Wood

Agree about chicken. Beef as well compared to most places

I won't complain if our beer drops to American prices

I'm fine with high taxes on luxury goods. In fact if the government needs to raise taxes anywhere that should always be the first stop

[Igster]

Originally Posted by GGG

The easiest way to do this would be to eliminate duty on things ordered from the states. This would force prices to be at least Cost * exchange plus shipping.

Then let the market take care of it.

This is the best way to take care of this. Forget about monitoring and government involvement. Businesses in Canada will lower their prices if we as consumers can order from the States and not pay any duty. Once they start losing business, they'll bring their prices back down to earth and stop making so much profit from us.

[Igster]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

I'm fine with high taxes on luxury goods. In fact if the government needs to raise taxes anywhere that should always be the first stop

Are you saying beer is a luxury item?

This is Canada...we NEED beer.

[opendoor]

What are you guys buying from the US that incurs a lot of duty? Most consumer goods are just subject to sales tax on import which is the same as if you bought it here.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by opendoor

What are you guys buying from the US that incurs a lot of duty? Most consumer goods are just subject to sales tax on import which is the same as if you bought it here.

The bolded is false.

You sound lucky. Essentailly anything not manufactured in the US is subject to duties. I have found if you are under $200 you won't get charged. I was dinged on a tent I bought from the states at something like 12% plus 5% gst. It was still cheaper than Canada.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by darklord700

The Fed should start with the auto industry first which has the most egregious price gouging in Canada comparing to the US.

i've ordered a TON of stuff for my truck from the states and have saved thousands of $

the one time i went to pick stuff up in oroville the u.s. boarder guard was being such a goof. she said something like, 'so you expect me to believe that you drove all the way from kelowna to come down to oroville just to pic up truck parts?' i really had to bite my tongue. i asked her if she's ever price-matched auto parts in the us/canada and she said, 'no'. i told her i was going picking up about $1500 worth of stuff (showed her my receipts) and then told her that if i bought the exact same product in canada it would be closer to $2700. she just looked at me and said, 'oh'

[Titan]

Will this also address the shipping restrictions? That is as much of a hassle. If I could Amazon prime everything I would be a happy cat.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Titan

Will this also address the shipping restrictions?

I don't see how it would. Those are imposed by the company of manufacture/distribution.

Frankly I hope it doesn't address shipping restrictions and don't see why it should.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Wood

Agree about chicken. Beef as well compared to most places

I won't complain if our beer drops to American prices

Chicken I can understand and honestly it is not only cheaper down here but is better.

For beef there isn't actually much of a difference if at all. The steak/beef you see for cheaper than canada prices in most of the supermarkets around here has the consistency of a hot dog when cooked. If you want truly good beef you are going to be paying as much as you do in Canada and it can still be hit or miss. By and large beef in canada is much more consistent and of generally higher quality.

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by GGG

The bolded is false.

You sound lucky. Essentailly anything not manufactured in the US is subject to duties. I have found if you are under $200 you won't get charged. I was dinged on a tent I bought from the states at something like 12% plus 5% gst. It was still cheaper than Canada.

Its not that clear cut, for example if you order Japanese Cameras and most other Japanese electronics from the US you will pay shipping, GST, and brokerage fees only as the items are specified as duty-free under the WTO rate agreements. In practice you usually get dinged by exorbitant shopping rates and brokerage fees, thats why its good to get an all in price.

[Vulcan]

The shipping restrictions for electronics gets me angry as US prices are way lower, but if the government make manufacturers sell here at the same prices, the shipping restrictions will be moot.

Looking at prices in other countries such as Australia or even the UK, those countries really get taken for a ride. In the UK they call it buying on the grey market for imports from the continent such as motorcycles.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by GGG

The bolded is false.

You sound lucky. Essentailly anything not manufactured in the US is subject to duties. I have found if you are under $200 you won't get charged. I was dinged on a tent I bought from the states at something like 12% plus 5% gst. It was still cheaper than Canada.

There are tons of exemptions and like you say, anything under a certain value will likely never get it applied. I've imported hundreds of things made all over the world of various values and I don't think I've ever actually paid duty on something for personal use.

Yeah sometimes you'll get hit with it, but that's a reality in virtually any country in the world. And when it comes to importing things, duty is just a tiny piece of the puzzle. Throw in sometimes ridiculous shipping costs, brokerage fees, licensing agreements that might prevent US sellers from selling to Canadians, etc. and there are a lot more obstacles to importing products cheaply than the cost of duty.