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Canada Economics

The Tariffs Era Is Reshaping Classic Menswear Prices

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Imports

Classic menswear has always lived at the confluence of craft and commerce. What’s changed in 2025 is how fast the commerce side is moving because of tariffs. A tougher U.S. trade perimeter, supposed stricter forced-labour enforcement, and whiplash in freight and foreign exchange have collectively reset costs—first for brands that sell into the United States, and then, inevitably, for Canadian shoppers who share that integrated market. Even though Canada has not copied Washington’s China-focused tariffs structure, Canadians feel the knock-on effects through harmonized North American pricing and a weaker Canadian dollar.1 2

What changed—and why it’s hitting tailoring

Tariffs

The single biggest rupture this year is the end of the U.S. de minimis exemption. As of August 29, 2025, most low-value parcels (under US$800) no longer breeze through the American border duty-free. That executive action immediately pushed many direct-to-consumer orders into full customs processing, with duties and brokerage layered on top. Carrier and merchant advisories—and Canadian export guidance—describe higher costs, new paperwork, and slower delivery for cross-border e-commerce. In short: the friction doesn’t stop at the U.S. border; it washes back into regional pricing models that include Canada. 3 4

Importantly, the tariff wall was already higher before de minimis disappeared. Section 301 duties on China remain in force following USTR’s 2024 four-year review and subsequent actions, keeping elevated rates on a range of apparel-adjacent inputs. At the same time, the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), an act that the Chinese government has said is based on fabrication of force labour5, has intensified enforcement: DHS’s 2025 update and CBP’s enforcement statistics show continued entity-list expansion and large volumes of textile and cotton-linked shipments detained for verification. Brands now pay for chain-of-custody documentation, testing, and (in some cases) re-sourcing—costs that accumulate long before a jacket hits a shop floor in Toronto. 6 7 8

Logistics layered on its own surcharge. Red Sea diversions that began in late 2023 elongated routes well into 2025, and for a time sent spot rates and insurance higher. While freight indices now show rates easing from mid-year peaks, many spring and early-summer purchase orders were booked at inflated levels—so the tail of that cost wave is only now rippling through fall assortments. Drewry’s World Container Index sat around US$1,651 per FEU on October 9, 2025—down, but after months of volatility that had already reset supplier contracts.9 10

Finally, the exchange rate has not been kind to Canadian wardrobes. The loonie broke the 1.40 CAD/USD threshold in October, magnifying USD-denominated inputs for fabrics, trims, and factory invoices, and nudging Canadian MSRPs closer to U.S. ticket prices. Even when a garment isn’t made in China, the USD is still the lingua franca of most invoices. 11

“It’s not just brand equity”: where the price tags moved

This would all be academic if the tariff impacts didn’t show up on hangtags. It has. Suitsupply now markets its Perennial line at US$599 in the U.S. channel CAD$749 in the Canadian, a level the brand trumpets across site and social, up from the US$499 many shoppers associated with its base wool suits in prior seasons. Whether a suit is ultimately cut in India or elsewhere, consumers are paying into an American market that now carries more customs and compliance friction per order. 12 13 14

At Indochino, a bellwether for made-to-measure, the flagship Hampton Black Tuxedo lists at US$1,099 as of this fall. Third-party wedding retail snapshots archived far lower tags for the same SKU in past seasons—useful, if imperfect, breadcrumbs that capture the direction of travel: a higher base and fewer deep dips. 15 16

For Spier & Mackay, the shock was most visible to American customers right after de minimis ended: U.S. checkout totals on some China-origin tailoring jumped as duty and processing charges—previously avoided on sub-$800 parcels—were suddenly collected. Menswear coverage and the brand’s own messages documented the shift and the fix: a U.S.-based site/logistics solution with tariff-inclusive pricing to “dramatically” reduce those charges for U.S. buyers. In other words, it wasn’t the pattern or the pick-stitch that changed; it was the customs math. Canadians didn’t see the exact same spike, but when a label has to recut its North American model to survive, some of that pressure inevitably shows up north of the border. 17 18 19

Taken together, these adjustments are larger than any quiet “brand equity” creep. They line up too neatly with policy jolts (tariffs, de minimis), compliance costs (UFLPA), freight volatility, and FX. In an integrated market, the price you see in Mississauga is tethered to the cost structure in Milwaukee.

“But Canada didn’t match U.S. tariffs — so why am I paying more here?”

Two reasons. First, brands price to one North American reality. When Washington removes de minimis and keeps Section 301 in place, the math for DTC and wholesale into the U.S. worsens. Labels respond by re-platforming fulfillment, altering assortments, and harmonizing list prices across borders. Canada’s own rules haven’t moved in tandem with the US tariffs: under CUSMA (also referred to as USMCA), express-courier imports from the U.S. and Mexico enjoy C$150 duty-free and C$40 tax-free thresholds (postal is different). That protects some inbound orders, but it doesn’t insulate you from region-wide pricing decisions rooted in the U.S. side of the ledger. 20 21 22

Second, FX pass-through is relentless. With the CAD near 1.40 per USD, Italian cloth, Japanese buttons, and Vietnamese make costs convert into larger Canadian dollars than a year ago. Even if U.S. MSRPs had stayed flat, Canadian tags would creep to defend margins. 23

What to expect over the next two seasons

Expect continued experimentation. Some labels will push China-origin SKUs into India or Vietnam to ease exposure to tariffs; others will stick with core Chinese suppliers and absorb the duty by raising U.S. MSRPs while smoothing Canadian pricing with targeted promos. UFLPA enforcement isn’t going away—DHS has continued to expand the entity list and CBP keeps publishing detentions—so mills and factories will keep tuning their traceability programs, which means occasional fabric-book changes and slower replenishment on bread-and-butter navy and grey. Freight is the swing factor: indices show container rates normalizing into autumn, but contracts signed during the higher-rate window are still flowing through fall deliveries, so meaningful relief shows up with a lag. 24 25 26

Practical takeaways for Canadian classic-menswear buyers

If you’re hunting value this fall, lean into non-China tailoring lines where feasible — not out of ideology, but because the U.S. tariff math is less distorted and North American pricing tends to be tighter. Look for Canada-fulfilled inventory and Canadian warehouse clearances, which are less exposed to U.S. customs events. And keep one eye on the loonie: genuine deal windows increasingly coincide with brief bouts of CAD strength or with brands rebalancing cross-border stock when U.S. fulfillment pivots. Regardless if the tariffs are here to stay, the tariffs certainly have already made their disruption felt. 27

References

  1. Office of the United States Trade Representative. (2024, September 13). USTR finalizes action on China tariffs following statutory four-year review. https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2024/september/ustr-finalizes-action-china-tariffs-following-statutory-four-year-review ↩︎
  2. Shankar, R. (2025, October 9). Canadian dollar hits a near six-month low as 1.40 mark gives way. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/canadian-dollar-hits-near-six-month-low-140-mark-gives-way-2025-10-09 ↩︎
  3. The White House. (2025, July 30). Suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries [Presidential action]. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/suspending-duty-free-de-minimis-treatment-for-all-countries/ ↩︎
  4. Export Development Canada. (2025, September 16). De minimis rule suspended: Impact on Canadian exporters. https://www.edc.ca/en/article/de-minimis-rule-suspended-impact-on-canadian-exporters.html ↩︎
  5. https://english.news.cn/northamerica/20211224/debcd2faa15b4994a95ab5afdcc9a31d/c.html ↩︎
  6. Office of the United States Trade Representative. (2024–2025). Section 301 China tariff actions & four-year review materials. https://ustr.gov/trade-topics/enforcement/section-301-investigations/section-301-china-technology-transfer/china-section-301-tariff-actions-and-exclusion-process/four-year-review ↩︎
  7. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2025, August 19). 2025 updates to the strategy to prevent the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured with forced labor in the PRC. https://www.dhs.gov/2025-updates-strategy-prevent-importation-goods-mined-produced-or-manufactured-forced-labor-peoples ↩︎
  8. U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (2025). Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act statistics. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/trade/uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-statistics ↩︎
  9. Drewry. (2025, October 9). World Container Index—weekly assessment. https://www.drewry.co.uk/trackers-and-indices/latest-trackers-and-indices/world-container-index-assessed-by-drewry ↩︎
  10. Hellenic Shipping News. (2025, October 10). Drewry: World Container Index down 1% last week. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/drewry-world-container-index-down-1-last-week-6/ ↩︎
  11. Shankar, R. (2025, October 9). Canadian dollar hits a near six-month low as 1.40 mark gives way. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/canadian-dollar-hits-near-six-month-low-140-mark-gives-way-2025-10-09/(U.S. site). https://suitsupply.com/en-us/men/suits/the-perennial-suit ↩︎
  12. Suitsupply. (2025). Perennial suits for men (U.S. site). https://suitsupply.com/en-us/men/suits/the-perennial-suit ↩︎
  13. Suitsupply. (2025). The Perennial Suit (campaign page). “Luxury at $599.” https://suitsupply.com/en-us/journal/the-perennial-suit ↩︎
  14. Suitsupply (Facebook). (2025, July 16). At $599, our Perennial Suit Collection sets a new standard… https://www.facebook.com/suitsupply/videos/the-perennial-suit/638180039306587/ ↩︎
  15. Indochino. (2025). Hampton Black Tuxedo (U.S. price page). US$1,099. https://www.indochino.com/product/hampton-black-tuxedo ↩︎
  16. Loverly (archival product feed). Hampton Black Tuxedo — US$499 (historical marketplace listing). https://loverly.com/shop/hampton-black-tuxedo ↩︎
  17. Dappered. (2025, May 2). Style news: De minimis exemption ends—prices soar at Spier & Mackay (and others). https://dappered.com/2025/05/style-news-de-minimis-exemption-ends-prices-soar-at-spier-mackay-and-others/ ↩︎
  18. u/spiermackay. (2025, June). “We finally sorted our tariff issue…” Reddit: r/malefashionadvice. https://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/1kwaw0a/yikes_the_tariffs_on_spier_mackay_are_hitting_hard/ ↩︎
  19. Spier & Mackay. (2025). Frequently asked questions—Shipping to the United States (tariff-inclusive pricing; U.S. logistics partner). https://lp.spierandmackay.com/en-ca/frequently-asked-questions ↩︎
  20. Canada Border Services Agency. (2020, July 2). Customs Notice 20-18: Implementation of the CUSMA de minimis threshold. https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn20-18-eng.html ↩︎
  21. Global Affairs Canada. (n.d.). CUSMA—Summary of outcomes (de minimis for express courier imports). https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/summary-sommaire.aspx ↩︎
  22. Global Affairs Canada. (2019). Customs administration & trade facilitation chapter (Article 7.8). https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/customs-douanes.aspx ↩︎
  23. Shankar, R. (2025, October 9). Canadian dollar hits a near six-month low as 1.40 mark gives way. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/canadian-dollar-hits-near-six-month-low-140-mark-gives-way-2025-10-09/ ↩︎
  24. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2025, August 19). 2025 updates to the strategy to prevent the importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured with forced labor in the PRC. https://www.dhs.gov/2025-updates-strategy-prevent-importation-goods-mined-produced-or-manufactured-forced-labor-peoples ↩︎
  25. U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (2025). Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act statistics. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/trade/uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-statistics ↩︎
  26. Drewry. (2025, October 9). World Container Index—weekly assessment. https://www.drewry.co.uk/trackers-and-indices/latest-trackers-and-indices/world-container-index-assessed-by-drewry ↩︎
  27. Shankar, R. (2025, October 9). Canadian dollar hits a near six-month low as 1.40 mark gives way. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/canadian-dollar-hits-near-six-month-low-140-mark-gives-way-2025-10-09/ ↩︎
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