We Are Shipping to the US Again
A prudent approach to President Trump's tariffs
This post last updated on 20 June 2025
When President Trump placed tariffs on Canadian goods in February of this year, I temporarily suspended sales of all paper books to the United States — I thought it best to allow the dust to settle, and wait until systems were in place to deal with any new costs and restrictions.
It is now understood that books printed in Canada, and books printed in the United States and then shipped back to the US from Canada, are both exempt from tariffs under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
It also looks like my shipping brokers have cleared their backlog, and most parcels are moving normally.
I am therefore pleased to announce that we have resumed sales to the US.
Some things remain up in the air, however.
I have a monograph on the academic painter William Bouguereau in the works, and I was thinking about trying something higher end, with sewn bindings and thick art paper... but if I were to print it in China as planned, anyone who buys a copy from the States will (by my calculations) get dinged with a 27.5% tariff. Cue the angry customer emails and reversed credit card charges. So that project is on hold.1
I might produce it as a small format, limited edition that can be shipped overseas at a reasonable price. There is, after all, a Commonwealth full of potential readers. What’s old is new again.2
I’ve heard that other art publishers are also sitting on their hands. If the tariffs make it less attractive to print in China, I wonder how someone like Benedikt Taschen will manage.
I say this tongue in cheek, but still…
Great map.
Sorry about the news, though, both for your sake and for my country's sake. Crazy policy.