How the New U.S. Tariffs Affect Our American Customers (And What We’re Doing About It)

Hey friends,

We know there’s been a lot of talk about new tariffs and trade wars, and we want to take a moment to break it all down for you. The short version? The U.S. government has slapped a 25% tariff on Canadian imports, including our gender-affirming lingerie and undergarments. And yeah, it sucks.

This isn’t something we wanted, and it’s definitely not something we’re happy about. But as always, we’re in this together. We’re doing everything we can to keep our products accessible and to support our community through these changes. Let’s get into what’s happening, how it affects you, and what we’re doing to help.

What’s Going On? Understanding the New Tariffs

The U.S. recently imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian-made apparel under the trade code 6212.90.00.10—fancy government-speak for “yep, this applies to us.” All of our products are handmade by our small team in Montreal, so everything ships from there.

There's a lot of misinformation from the US government about what tariffs are, and contrary to all the yelling about "making countries pay it," we wanted to be clear with you about how these tariffs work. Tariffs are an import tax on goods, which mean that they're paid by the importer in the form of duties at the border. In this case, the "importer" means you, our American clients.

In fact, there's not actually a way for the seller (us) to pay this in advance. So if your order gets a 25% tax slapped on it, that's something you pay after it's shipped and has crossed the border. (As if you needed another policy that's actively damaging US citizens right now. 😮‍💨)

What does that mean for you?

• Any orders over $800 are now taxed an extra 25%, even if they were shipped before March 4 but are still in transit.

• Orders under $800 are still tariff-free—for now. The U.S. government doesn’t currently have the systems in place to charge duties on small orders, but they’re actively trying to change that.

• The Canadian dollar has dropped, which means even with the tariff, you’re still paying less than Canadian customers in some cases. Small silver linings, right?

What This Means for Our U.S. Customers

If you’re an individual customer placing an order under $800, your prices won’t change yet. That’s because these orders aren’t being hit with the tariff at this moment. But we don’t know how long this loophole will last.

For anyone who's ordered over $800, we’re deeply sorry about the price increases. We know that a 25% tariff is a big deal, and we’re actively looking into ways to soften the impact. If you have an existing order that was shipped before March 4 but hasn’t arrived yet, it’ll still get taxed, so please reach out to us if needed.

What We’re Doing to Keep Prices Accessible

We don’t have control over government policies (if we did, this wouldn’t be happening), but we do have control over how we support our community. Here’s what we’re doing:

1. Looking for Cost-Saving Strategies

We’re actively exploring different shipping and pricing solutions to minimize price increases wherever possible. We’ll keep you updated on any changes we make to help you get the best deal.

2. Our Community Program is Still Here

We never want cost to be the reason someone goes without the gender-affirming products they need. That’s why we run our Community Program, where you can apply for free products if affordability is a barrier. No judgment, no questions—just support when you need it.  Apply here

3. Find Us in U.S. Brick-and-Mortar Stores

We’re proud to be stocked in a small number of physical stores in the U.S. If you want to avoid international shipping fees altogether, shopping in person at one of our stockists is a great option. (And supporting small queer-owned businesses in your area is a win-win!) Check out our  store locations.

We’re also always looking to add more wholesalers to our list, so if you have a store or organization in your town that you think should carry our products, we’d love if you’d tell us about it, and mention us when you go in person! Telling stores that sell gender affirmation supplies (often indie sex shops) that you want them to carry our ethical, made-by-trans-hands gender gear is a great way to both support us, and get the products you want!

4. Keeping You Informed

We’ll always be transparent about changes like this. If the tariff exemption for orders under $800 disappears, we’ll let you know right away. Make sure you’re signed up for our  newsletter and following us on  Instagram for updates.

We’re Here for You

We hate that this is happening, and we know it’s frustrating. But no matter what, we’re still committed to making high-quality, gender-affirming lingerie and undergarments for our community. We’re not going anywhere.

If you have any questions, want to chat about your options, or just need reassurance that yes, this sucks but no, you’re not alone—we’re here. You can always reach out, and we’ll do our best to help.

Community Over Tariffs

We’re living in weird times, but one thing remains true: Community is stronger than any tariff.

Thank you for continuing to support us, for showing up for small businesses, and for being part of the Origami Customs family.

Looking for additional ways to help? Call or email your Congressperson or donate to our mutual aid programs that give away free gender-affirming garments.

Need more resources? Check out our huge guide for Americans, and our other available resources list.