Trade policy between the United States, Canada and Mexico has been unusually active, and most coverage of it is written for economists rather than for people with a crate on a dock. For a shipper, only four things matter: whether your goods qualify for preferential treatment, what duty applies if they do not, whether your paperwork will survive inspection, and whether your packaging itself is compliant. That last one catches more shipments than the first three combined, and it is the one nobody reads about. Here is how each works and what you control.
We crate and ship cross-border freight from Las Vegas, with additional locations in Los Angeles, Miami and San Antonio, the last sitting on one of the busiest US to Mexico trade corridors.
Where USMCA Stands Right Now
USMCA replaced NAFTA and entered into force on 1 July 2020 with an initial sixteen year term. Uniquely among US trade agreements, it contains a review clause: the parties were required to meet on the sixth anniversary to decide whether to extend.
That review took place on 1 July 2026. The United States did not agree to renew the agreement in its current form, while Canada and Mexico each confirmed support for extension. The practical effect is frequently misreported, so to be precise about it:
- The agreement did not expire and has not lapsed. It remains in force.
- The sixteen year term still runs to 1 July 2036 unless the parties later agree otherwise.
- Declining to extend triggers annual reviews rather than termination, and extension remains available at any point if the parties confirm it.
For a shipper, the immediate consequence is uncertainty rather than change. Rules of origin, sector specific duties and enforcement are all live topics in an ongoing negotiation, which means the rules governing your goods could shift on a timeline shorter than your usual planning horizon. USTR's statement on the joint review and Congressional Research Service briefings on the review process and its background and issues are the most reliable plain language explanations available.
Practical advice: verify classification and preferential eligibility at the time you ship, not from what was true last quarter. That is standard good practice, and it matters more than usual while a negotiation is running.
The Four Things That Determine What You Pay
| Factor | What It Determines | Where to Confirm It |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | The HTS code, which drives duty rate and treatment | US International Trade Commission tariff schedule, or your broker |
| Rules of origin | Whether goods qualify for preferential treatment under USMCA | CBP guidance and the agreement's product specific rules |
| Valuation | The declared value duty is calculated against | Commercial invoice, prepared accurately |
| Packaging compliance | Whether the crate or pallet itself can enter | ISPM 15 marking requirements |
The first three are your broker's territory and we will not pretend otherwise. If you are unclear whether you need a broker or a forwarder, our short explainer covers the difference. The fourth is ours, and it is the one that surprises people.
Rules of Origin: The Part Most Shippers Underestimate
Preferential treatment under USMCA is not automatic because a shipment crosses a North American border. Goods have to qualify under the agreement's rules of origin, which specify how much regional content a product needs and how that content is calculated. The rules vary by product category, and automotive rules in particular are considerably more involved than most.
Two practical consequences. A product assembled in North America from largely overseas components may not qualify. And qualification is something you must be able to demonstrate, not merely assert, which means certification and supporting records. CBP publishes USMCA guidance covering claims and documentation requirements, and classification is checked against the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
We raise this because shippers occasionally assume a crate marked for Canada or Mexico travels duty free by default. It does not, and discovering otherwise at the border is expensive.
Your Crate Has Its Own Border Requirements
This is the part we can solve outright, and it is entirely independent of what is inside. Solid wood packaging crossing an international border must be heat treated and marked under ISPM 15, the international standard on wood packaging material. It applies to crates, pallets, skids, dunnage and bracing. In the United States the programme is administered through USDA APHIS, and Canada and Mexico both enforce the standard.
What trips shippers up:
- It applies to the packaging, not the product. A perfectly compliant, correctly classified, duty free shipment can still be held because of the pallet under it.
- Paperwork does not fix it. Uncertified wood is refused, treated at the border at your cost, or returned. No amount of correct documentation substitutes for the stamp.
- Plywood and engineered panels are exempt, because manufacturing already eliminates pests. This is why many export crates use a heat treated solid wood frame with plywood sheathing.
- Reused pallets are a common failure. A pallet that came in under a delivery may carry no valid mark, or a mark that cannot be verified.
We apply the ISPM 15 heat treatment stamp in house, so compliance on international shipments adds neither a vendor nor a week to your schedule, and we build custom pallets to the same standard.
Land Border Freight Is a Different Discipline
Freight moving by truck or rail into Canada or Mexico behaves differently from ocean or air. Transit is shorter, handling is usually lighter, and the schedule is more predictable. What replaces those risks is border processing: documentation review, inspection, and in Mexico's case often a transfer between carriers at the border.
What this means for how you pack:
- Build for inspection. A crate may be opened and reclosed at the border. Screwed lids survive that. Nailed panels do not.
- Mark thoroughly. Weight, contents description matching the paperwork, orientation, fork entry, and consignee details on multiple faces.
- Expect a transfer. On Mexico bound freight, plan for the load being handled by a carrier that has never seen it, which is exactly the scenario a properly engineered crate is built for.
- Protect against dwell time. Freight held at a border sits outdoors. Vapor barrier bags with desiccant matter more here than transit distance suggests.
Our San Antonio location and Los Angeles location both sit on major cross-border corridors, and we handle cross docking and 3PL for consolidated cross-border consignments.
Planning While the Rules Are Moving
- Verify at ship time, not at quote time. Classification and eligibility should be confirmed when the shipment moves, particularly during an active negotiation.
- Keep your origin documentation in order. If you claim preferential treatment, be able to substantiate it.
- Do not let packaging be the failure point. It is the one variable entirely within your control and the one most often overlooked.
- Reduce dimensional weight. Whatever happens to duty rates, freight is billed on dimensions. A crate built to the item removes cost permanently. See how custom crates save money.
- Build schedule buffer. Border processing times vary. Local storage is cheaper than expedited freight when a date slips.
What we will not do is tell you what duty you will pay or forecast where the negotiation lands. Anyone publishing confident percentages on that right now is guessing, and a wrong number costs you more than no number. Confirm with your broker, and use the primary sources linked above.
Get Your Cross-Border Freight Crated
Send us the item dimensions and weight, the destination, and whether it moves by truck, rail, ocean or air. We will build to spec, apply ISPM 15 certification in house, and mark it for the border. Call 702-748-4973 or 1-833-801-9084 toll free, email contact@lasvegascrating.com, or request a quote online. See our international shipping, freight shipping and crate fabrication pages.