Buying Winter Tires in U.S. Presents Slippery Questions

(Montreal Gazette – Anne Sutherland)

Tempted to buy your tires in the United States? The prices are lower in many cases but there are legalities to be observed. And where the tires you buy were made makes a big difference.

For purposes of comparison, we looked at new winter tires for a 2000 Nissan Maxima, a sedan.

Sears Automotive on Dorset St. in Burlington, Vt., quoted $99 U.S. apiece for Michelin X-Ice winter tires. Installation is extra, said Sears employee Joe Warner. “About 25% of our customers are Canadians because the prices there are so high,” Warner said.

Merson Automotive on St. Jacques St. in Notre Dame de Grâce quotes the same tires at $166.50 each, but that includes installation and balancing.

Now comes the tricky part: declaring your purchases at the border.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, tires made in Canada, the United States or Mexico are duty-free. (The Michelins in our comparison are manufactured in Canada and the U.S., so there is no duty to be paid.) Federal and provincial sales taxes, however, must be paid on tires bought in the U.S.

Duty must be paid on tires from other countries such as Japan or Chile. Customs duties vary with the goods you are buying and the country of origin, but expect to pay at least seven per cent.

If you take a day trip to the United States and buy four tires with a total bill of $400, you would spend about $28 in duty plus both taxes upon declaring your purchase.

Failure to declare purchases can lead to the seizing of merchandise and fines, according to the website of the Canadian Border Services Agency.

You must spend 24 hours in the United States to earn a goods exemption of $50. To qualify for a goods exemption of $400, you must be out of the country for 48 hours. Seven days and you can bring back $750 worth of goods.