Latest update from Stallion on the DDU China Situation (and requirements for customs)

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

The U.S. shipping landscape has shifted dramatically this year, with new enforcement rules and evolving tariff policies. To help you stay compliant and avoid disruptions, we’ve put together a quick guide on what matters most when shipping to the U.S. through Stallion.

✅ U.S. Shipping Compliance: What’s Required on Every Shipment No matter where your products are made, all U.S.-bound shipments must meet these two requirements: 1. Correct Country of Origin Declaration You must declare where the product was last substantially transformed. Examples: ✔ Tablet assembled in Malaysia → Origin: Malaysia ✘ T-shirt made in China, printed in Canada → Still Origin: China 2. Country of Origin Marking Products must be labeled “Made in [Country]” directly on the item or its packaging (not the shipping box). Must be: • In English • Legible and durable • No handwritten markings

⚠ Compliance is Being Strictly Enforced Tampering with country of origin labels, misdeclaring origin, or applying false information can result in: • Up to $10,000 in penalties (from CBP and/or Stallion) • Permanent suspension of your ability to ship to the U.S. as CBP may flag your brand or company If you’re unsure, reach out. Our team is here to help.

🚫 Major Disruptions Affecting DDU Shipments to the U.S. We’re seeing a wave of Canada Post Tracked Packet USA shipments being rejected by U.S. Customs and returned weeks later — due to confusion over whether Canada Post or USPS is responsible for collecting duties and taxes on DDU shipments. The same issues may apply to PostNL DDU service to the US, as CBP continues to reject DDU shipments across the board. We are currently planning to turn off both Canada Post and PostNL DDU options by next Wednesday, and will send a follow-up email with the final decision. Our recommendation: Avoid using any DDU service for U.S. shipments right now.

✅ Stallion DDP: Best Option for China/Hong Kong–Made Goods If your products are made in China or Hong Kong, our Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) solution is the most reliable path forward. How It Works: • Submit your SKUs for customs approval • Once approved, use DDP (USPS) shipping • Daily clearances from Ontario • 3x/week clearances from other provinces (expect 1–2 extra transit days for DDP only) Clients using DDP are reporting smooth, reliable deliveries with no disruptions. 📽 Watch the DDP setup tutorial If You Do NOT Have a Connected Store, you’ll need to manually add your products to the Products page before submitting them for approval. Click here for a guide on how to add products/SKUs and manufacturer information in our system.

❓ What If My Products Aren’t Made in China/Hong Kong? You’re good - just make sure you: • Declare the correct country of origin in your Stallion dashboard • Have proper origin labels on the product or packaging Your shipments will move without issue.

📞 Need Help? We’re here for you, but please note we’re seeing higher support volumes due to DDU-related issues. • For urgent matters, call us directly (we’ve increased phone support staffing) • For general questions, email us and we’ll get back as quickly as possible Thanks again for your trust, – The Stallion Express Team

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

I'm going to reply to what's above... I had been putting hand written labels on my ambigious stuff (which is obviously not from China, but the marking determines which country) because I don't see the difference between handwriting a label and printing a label with my computer. Seems they will accept it if I print it (which means I should print a bunch for the common places I ship stuff from).

I haven't had any problems with my shipments through Stallion (all non-China), but I've been doing my best to declare and describe things very clearly for Customs. So far no customers have told me of my packages having been opened (although that doesn't mean this didn't happen).

Today I sold a handmade pair of earrings (made in Canada with components purchased from different places), but my jewellery business (Sapphyre's Designer Jewellery) has it's own manufacture labels that were professionally printed to identify all of my crafted items as made in Canada.

C.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

I want to talk about this "sticker with Country of Origin" thing.

So no handwritten stickers, they have to be printed/typed (that's how I'm reading this). If I'm shipping a token from the 1920s in a ziplock bag and there's a sticker on the bag, no matter what the sticker looks like, they know it didn't come with the token. So what difference does it make what the sticker looks like or how it's written?

Also they require the country of origin to be in English. Is that some kind of international standard that all country of origin markings are in English? Don't they have markings in the language of the origin country (like Italia instead of Italy)? What kind of country insists that all markings on a product be in their language?

I do get that in Asia and perhaps the Middle East, it will be in English because lots of consumers won't be able to read the native language. But I'm pretty sure I've seen markings in languages other than English (and my stamps don't have markings in English.. it says Norge, not Norway, and Sverige not Sweden, etc, etc. Only with non-Latin alphabets do they sometimes put the country name in English). Coins are the same, they will be marked in the language where they were minted.

I think this requirement is worthy of some discussion, sorry for making three posts in a row on this thread but I'm particularly upset that they are requiring a sticker when the product is so old the sticker was obviously added by me when I shipped it, and requiring the language to be English when many country names are written differently in the local language (which I think should be acceptable as an alternative, provided it's well identified as the country of origin).

C.

[electronicsextraordinaire]

"Coins are the same, they will be marked in the language where they were minted."

Even that gets dicey because a lot of countries don't mint their own coins. You just know the customer will be marked. Doubt customs will see it my way though.

[rdemaree]

I mostly sell handmade art supplies but I also sometimes sell antique art supplies made in either the USA or Europe. 

Its a little more easy to understand the Made In Canada stickers for my handmade stuff but do I now need to order a roll of made in the UK and Made in France and Made in Germany, Made in the USA stickers for the once in a while vintage art supplies that I sell?

This seems totally absurd. You could easily just lie if you wanted to either way. How will this goofy measure even be enforced?

Could I just buy wholesale Chinese goods and just simply slap a made in Canada sticker on them and be ok?

or forget the made in canada sticker on my actual made in canada products and this not be ok?

Seems goofy as all hell and backwards.

Can someone explain this to me?

I ship strictly using Canada Post through ebay labels these days and from time to time use Chit Chats if I have to. 

[cottagewoman]

The problem is the removal of Chinese (CN) goods from de minimis exemption requires US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to validate the country of origin (CoO) status of literally millions of packages entering the US daily.

Previous to this change, verification of under 800$ shipments by CBP was focused on misrepresentation of value, restricted items, illegal items to import, etc. CoO didn't matter - anything entering that didn't meet suspicion was able to clear via de minimis.

As well, typical commercial shipments that required formal clearance due to value or other criteria do follow certain CoO marking standards as they are being imported into the US by commercial manufacturers, distributors, etc. Outer shipping containers carry CoO markings for items shipped in bulk that may or may not have CoO marked on each item. Shrink wrap or other external packaging on individual units carries a CoO mark (case in point - DVDs, software, etc have the CoO printed on the outer shrink wrap, but often not on the inner contents). These commercial marking norms made the verification of CoO simple and direct.

However once an item is opened or removed from its original commercial shipping container and that identification is removed for items that aren't marked with a clear CoO - whether the item was made last week or 200 years ago - its origin is for all intents and purposes obliterated.

CBP is now in a position where all the tried and true processes can't support their new mandate of verifying CoO to apply tariffs to CN made goods. And to top it all off, it's required for millions of packages daily that they NEVER had to consider before May 2nd 2025, with a reduced or inadequate workforce.

CBP are going to apply broad stroke measures such as targeting certain classes of goods - like toys, housewares, electronics, clothing, jewelry, etc - since these type of items currently are mostly made in China. We're seeing the effects of the absolute mess that was created when the CN de minimis removal was applied without any consultation with those implied in the change, no preparation, no actual understanding of the impacts. Every few weeks the fallout spreads wider - now items without CN CoO are being delayed in Chicago, most likely due to a huge backlog inspecting packages by hand.

Imagine selling a 17th century clear stemmed wine glass from England worth 750$. It looks very much like a modern wine glass that most likely is made in China. CBP could easily flag this glass as being suspected of CN origin. The seller attached a printed sticker marked Made in Great Britain. But using all their typical processes, with no knowledge of the value of rare 17th century English glassware, they deem it made in China, and then go after the seller for fraud and either seize the glass, return it the sender, or apply a CN djt tariff that the buyer refuses. This could easily happen.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@electronicsextraordinaire wrote:

"Coins are the same, they will be marked in the language where they were minted."

Even that gets dicey because a lot of countries don't mint their own coins. You just know the customer will be marked. Doubt customs will see it my way though.

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It's the same with banknotes (and probably stamps too). There's a few banknote printers in the world that print most of the notes (one is Canada, the other is De La Rue in the UK).

The problem is the border people are not smart enough to read a country on the coin and realize it was minted outside that country. Without a certificate or something to substiate that it was made by the Royal Canada Mint (or whichever mint), I figure it's safest at the border to declare what's right in front of them.

BTW, we make China Panda coins in Canada, but if I try to ship one and they open the package they will say it's from China and subject to tariffs.

C.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@rdemaree wrote:

I mostly sell handmade art supplies but I also sometimes sell antique art supplies made in either the USA or Europe. 

Its a little more easy to understand the Made In Canada stickers for my handmade stuff but do I now need to order a roll of made in the UK and Made in France and Made in Germany, Made in the USA stickers for the once in a while vintage art supplies that I sell?

This seems totally absurd. You could easily just lie if you wanted to either way. How will this goofy measure even be enforced?

Could I just buy wholesale Chinese goods and just simply slap a made in Canada sticker on them and be ok?

or forget the made in canada sticker on my actual made in canada products and this not be ok?

Seems goofy as all hell and backwards.

Can someone explain this to me?

I ship strictly using Canada Post through ebay labels these days and from time to time use Chit Chats if I have to. 

---

You're asking a lot of questions that are running through my head (but it sounds kind of goofy when I talk outloud about these things with my friends).

To start with, I think if the item is supposed to have a permanent marking on the item, you can't get around that. The absense of a made in xxx stamp is on certain types of items because they can't be marked (that's when you have the sticker).

Likely no one will know where your items are made if you lie about it on the declaration, and the way I see it, as long as Customs doesn't think your item is made in China you're probably OK. With my tokens it's obvious they're not Chinese, so I try not to worry too much if I'm not sure where it's made. 

I was at Stallion earlier today and brought up the sticker thing, and they said as long as it's not handwritten, it's OK to print it on my computer. Apparently some people use their stallion labels to print COO stickers. I'm thinking of maybe having some made up. Other people have had them made up and are marking their package with a made in Canada sticker (to be seen before the package is opened). I don't want to advertise what's in the package by putting a "made in xxx sticker".

C.

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

@cottagewoman 

I won't quote your whole post, but did have something to add...

CBP is giving the Cross Border Shippers a list of people who violate the "don't ship Chinese goods" policy, and the Cross Border Shippers are checking all those packages. Apparently I'm not on the list which is why all my packages go through fast without being checked, but I wouldn't dare try to ship a China made item in case CBP spot checks. It's not worth the very hefty fine. My solution with China made goods is to try and find other markets to ship them to (I've shipped two since this started on May 2, one was to Switzerland, the other was to Hong Kong). I have a business policy set up for all China items to not have US shipping available.

C.

[palmerstonpicks]

Does anyone have a suggestion on how /who to reach out to ebay to get their eyes on this?
I do not want to incur anymore Item Not Received cases as some orders are really late or being returned to sender  with no update on tracking. 

[sapphyres-designer-jewellery]

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@palmerstonpicks wrote:

Does anyone have a suggestion on how /who to reach out to ebay to get their eyes on this?
I do not want to incur anymore Item Not Received cases as some orders are really late or being returned to sender  with no update on tracking. 

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We've been paging them in some of these threads but we're basically being ignored.

I've kind of resigned myself to having to resolve my own issues. The problem is these issues crop up suddenly without any kind of warning and basically throw a hornet's nest of problems in our path.

C.