(Ellen van
Wageningen — Postmedia News)
Exempting Canadians who make same-day shopping trips to the United States from paying duties on their first $200 in purchases will push down prices on this side of the border and help consumers take advantage of the strong loonie, says a University of Toronto expert.
The exemption would be a consumer-friendly way of smoothing the flow of traffic across the border that won’t hurt retailers as much as they claim, said Ambarish Chandra, an assistant professor of business economics. “I don’t think this is something that would lead to a flood of people shopping across the border. All it would do is legitimize something that’s probably already going on.”
He made his case last week to the Senate committee on national finance, which is investigating why prices are often lower in the United States than Canada. Read more here.
