An Important Update on Tariffs & Our Business

See our Shipping page here for the most up to date information.

April 15, 2025

Thank you so much for your support and patience over the past few weeks. We've been working hard to keep up with a high volume of orders, and our current fulfillment time is around 6 business days. We’re so grateful for your continued enthusiasm and understanding!

Effective May 2, 2025, the United States will end duty-free de minimis treatment for goods imported from China and Hong Kong. This means that all goods of Chinese origin shipped to the U.S. — regardless of order value — will now be subject to duties, taxes, and import charges. These charges are not issued by us, but will be billed to you by your shipping provider, either before delivery or at the time of delivery.

What will the tariffs be?

For Chinese-origin goods sent via the international postal network (such as Canada Post), a flat duty rate of 120% of the item’s value or $100 per item will apply — increasing to $200 per item starting June 1, 2025.

For shipments sent through couriers like FedEx, applicable duties will be charged according to standard U.S. import procedures (this could include up to ~145% Tariffs on Chinese-origin goods).

Before April 21: If you’re hoping to place an order containing goods of Chinese origin, we strongly recommend selecting FedEx International Economy at checkout for the best chance of receiving your order before the May 2 deadline.

To help you shop more confidently:

We’ve added a collection on our website for goods that are not made in China — these will continue to qualify for duty-free entry to the U.S. under the $800 USD de minimis exemption.
The country of origin is always listed on each product page.
We will continue updating our shipping page with the latest information as this situation evolves.

We’re paying close attention as things continue to unfold. Thank you again for sticking with us - your support means the world.

Warmly,
Caroline
Founder, Blackbird Fabrics

April 3, 2025

Update on Upcoming Tariff Changes

We want to keep you informed about upcoming changes that may impact our US customers. On May 2, the United States is ending duty-free de minimis treatment for goods from China and Hong Kong. This means that many of our products could be subject to tariffs, which would be charged to the customer upon delivery.
That said, as we’ve seen over the past two months, the news is evolving daily. We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide a concrete update as soon as we have more certainty.

For now, nothing has changed, but if you are considering placing an order, we strongly recommend doing so before April 15. This will give us enough time to process and ship your order so it can cross the border before any potential tariff changes take effect.

Thank you, as always, for your patience and support as we navigate these challenges.

March 4, 2025

Tariff Update

As of March 4, 2025, new U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports have officially taken effect.

For now, orders under $800 USD remain unaffected, thanks to the de minimis exception. This means that U.S. customers can still shop with us without paying additional tariffs, but this could change in the future.

If you’ve been thinking about placing an order, now is the time! We encourage our U.S. customers to shop while tariffs do not apply to smaller orders.

Most importantly, I want to say thank you. The outpouring of support from our community has been incredible. Your words of encouragement and the wave of orders have kept us busy, helped us prepare financially for what’s ahead, and most of all, made us feel hopeful about the future.

We’re keeping a close eye on any potential changes and will share updates as soon as we have them. Thank you for your continued support!

Warmly,
Caroline
Founder, Blackbird Fabrics

February 15, 2025

As a small business, we want to be transparent about some potential changes that could have a big impact on how you shop with us. Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty around trade policies between Canada and the U.S., and we are preparing for what could be major challenges ahead.

What’s Happening?

Currently, the de minimis exception allows U.S. customers to receive international orders under $800 without paying import duties. However, there’s growing discussion about removing or modifying this rule. If this happens, it means that all shipments from Canada to the U.S. could be subject to customs fees and tariffs, significantly increasing costs for our U.S. customers.

Additionally, the U.S. government has increased tariffs on Chinese-origin goods, which could make many of our fabrics more expensive. If the de minimis exception is eliminated, these tariffs will apply to many fabrics in our collection, even though we ship from Canada. At the same time, the U.S. is considering new tariffs on Canadian imports, which could further increase the cost of shopping with us.

Since a large portion of our business comes from the U.S., these policy changes could have a big impact on our ability to continue offering the fabrics you love. While this uncertainty hangs above us, we are doing everything we can behind the scenes to prepare and adapt.

How This Affects You

For Our U.S. Customers

If these changes go into effect, you could face additional costs, including tariffs and customs fees, on all orders shipped from Canada. This would make it significantly more expensive to shop with us, and we fear that it could lead to a major reduction in our U.S. customer base.

💛 How You Can Help: Supporting small businesses, staying engaged, and spreading the word makes a huge difference. You can also contact your representatives and ask them to protect the de minimis rule and fair trade with Canada. If you’ve been thinking of placing an order and want to get ahead of any potential tariffs, now is the time. Your continued support helps us weather these uncertainties and continue bringing you the fabrics you love.

For Our Canadian Customers

While your shopping experience and prices will be minimally affected, these changes could force us to shrink our product selection as we adapt to a smaller business model. We remain committed to serving our Canadian community, and we need your support now more than ever.

💛 How You Can Help: Shopping small and supporting Canadian businesses helps keep companies like ours strong. You can also contact your local MP and MLA to let them know how important it is to protect Canadian small businesses that rely on U.S. customers. Let them know that changes to de minimis could put Canadian jobs at risk and ask them to advocate for fair trade policies.

We know there’s so much happening in the world right now, and you may have your own challenges to navigate. If supporting our small business isn’t something you’re in a position to do, we completely understand. Just having you here as part of our community means so much to us.

We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more, and we deeply appreciate your support, no matter what happens.

With gratitude,
Caroline
Founder, Blackbird Fabrics