USA TARIFF UPDATE

Read on for the implications to epic products

A Note to Our American Friends

First things first - thank you. Truly.

We love you guys. You’ve supported us and our small Canadian team in big ways. We love making Jeep parts for you and nothing makes us happier than seeing your installs, hearing your adventure stories, and knowing our gear is helping fuel your EPIC moments.

All our products are made in Canada, with Canadian/USA materials and Canadian muscle (our hands are bigger up here - it's science).

We currently source many of our materials and finished goods from vendors in the USA, as we believe in supporting small businesses on both sides of the border. After all, Canada and the U.S. have a long history of being good neighbours and working together, whether it’s economics, adventures, or the occasional hockey game rivalry.

The Tariff Situation
As you may have noticed, 2025 brought us the Great Tariff War. Here’s the quick-and-dirty version of how it affects Canadian businesses like EPIC shipping into the U.S.:

IEEPA Tariff - Now 35%

  • As of Aug 25th, 2025, all Canadian-made products entering the U.S. get hit with a 35% tariff.
  • This tariff falls outside the USMCA/CUSMA free trade agreement (signed by the first Trump Administration).
  • EPIC products should qualify under the free trade agreement and not be charged the IEEPA 35%. However, many of our shipments were mistakenly charged this tariff even though our products are classified properly and documentation is complete/correct.
  • EPIC has had to pay this tariff on our client's behalf and we are pursuing reversals on these tariffs. It's just gonna take a lot of time and energy on our part.

The De Minimis $800 Exemption

  • Before Aug 29th, 2025, Canadian businesses could send packages under $800 directly to U.S. buyers without going through the full customs declaration process.
  • EPIC never used this loophole, but many businesses did. Since its removal, U.S. parcel volume from the World dropped by 80% in one week (link).
  • Couriers are still in chaos, which means shipping delays are the new normal. Sometimes you might see your shipment from us get stuck in US Customs Clearance for a week or more. We're sorry for this - however it is out of our hands. Hopefully US Customs and Customs Brokers get things smoothed out soon.

Section 232 Metal Tariffs – Now 50%

  • Until Aug 18th, 2025, Section 232 tariffs only applied to raw or unfinished metal goods.
  • After Aug 18th, they expanded to finished metal goods, which includes EPIC’s products.
  • Yep. That stings.

What Does This Mean for EPIC?
These tariffs must be paid before products cross the border. Unfortunately, we can't absorb the costs of these tariffs, so we've had to increase some of our product prices and shipping prices in the meantime.

So here’s what we’ve done:

  • Some product prices, specifically those affected by tariffs have had small increases to help off-set the incurred cost to our operations.
  • Shipping prices have been increased slightly, based on courier cost increases outside our control.

“Why Don’t You Just Make Stuff in the U.S.?”
We’ve asked ourselves the same thing. The short version:

  • It’s very expensive and complicated for a Canadian company to open shop in the U.S.
    It requires partnering with a U.S. citizen, legal red tape, and a lot of upfront investment in the equipment required to bring each product to life.
  • We’re open to it - but unless you’ve got a U.S. sugar-daddy investor hanging around, it’s not happening tomorrow. (If you do know one, send him or her our way.)
  • All jokes aside, we're working on it - but it won't happen quickly.

Final Word
We hope you’ll keep supporting us - please know that every purchase helps keep our small Canadian team alive, building cool Jeep parts, and shipping them across the border to our awesome American friends.

We appreciate you.

Cheers,

The EPIC Team

PS: If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us. We loooove talking about cross-border trade ;-)