When Neil Pitman was trying to buy a new part for his pressure cooker, he couldn't believe the price difference between shipping it from the United States to his home in Sherbrooke, Que., compared to the cost coming from China.

The part could have cost him less than a dollar to ship from China. But if he ordered it from the United States, shipping would cost $22.99.

Pitman said, "I buy things from eBay often at reasonable prices, and I’m always amazed at the shipping costs from the United States compared to shipping from China," adding, "Shipping from China is virtually nothing. I would prefer to buy American or Canadian products. But even from the next province over, the cost is much higher."

Sirasy Duran, an assistant professor of operations and supply chain management at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, says that shipping a package from China to Canada can cost around $5 to $6 per kilogram, "which is very cheap."

According to Canada Post's shipping rate calculator, sending a one-kilogram parcel within the provinces can cost about $24. Sending a one-kilogram parcel from Canada to China costs $28.50, depending on its size.

This is due to the year 1874 and the establishment of an international agency called the Universal Postal Union, when it was very difficult to send a letter from one country to another, according to Paulus Schorle, director of programs and political and regulatory counsel for the Universal Postal Union in Bern, Switzerland.

He said that if you were sending a letter through multiple countries, you would have to pay hefty fees. Every time the mail crosses a border, it incurs additional costs for the sender.

Schorle added, "It was very complicated and difficult to send a letter from one country to another, in fact, sometimes across different jurisdictions or administrative regions."

This led to representatives meeting in Bern, Switzerland, in 1874 and signing the Bern Treaty, which established the Universal Postal Union, an agreement that countries would carry letters and small parcels from other countries for free.

Schorle said, "At that point, it was decided that all postal services would be a universal service," and the idea was to balance everything, where each country helps the other, and after 100 years, a change occurred.

Schorle continued, "Italy felt there was an imbalance, as Italian postal companies were delivering more international mail, and people there were requesting heavy magazines. At the same time, the country was not sending out the same amount of mail that it was receiving."

In the 1960s, countries that were part of the Universal Postal Union came to a new agreement. If a country received more international mail than it sent, it would be paid the difference.

At that time, this equated to half a gold franc, the currency previously used by international organizations, for each kilogram of international mail. But not all countries could afford that.

Thus, the Universal Postal Union instituted fees so that wealthier countries would pay more for their international mail delivery compared to developing economies.

Schorle said, "The basic idea is that any citizen or company should be able to send mail parcels through the global postal network to any destination."

At that time, China was considered a developing economy, meaning that the country would incur lower fees for international mail compared to other countries. That didn’t change for decades.

With the rise of e-commerce in the early 21st century, China found itself with a significant competitive edge. Shipping to North America was cheap, and Schorle says that Canadian and U.S. postal services were delivering the parcels without being adequately compensated.

In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump reversed prices and threatened to withdraw the country from the Universal Postal Union, allowing the United States and other countries, including Canada, to negotiate a new deal with the Universal Postal Union.

According to Mindaugas Serbikin, an economist studying the postal system in Copenhagen, the United States was able to secure the most privileges, while Canada managed to increase its rates over time, but Serbikin says there is still a significant gap.

"The United States was allowed to raise its rates, and it was allowed to do so faster than other industrialized countries."

Serbikin said that Canada and other countries can raise their rates by about 16 percent annually.

"While a 16 percent increase may seem large, one must take into account that some countries like Canada need to increase by between 200 to 400 percent to close the gap between domestic prices and international prices."

The CBC network reached out to Canada Post regarding shipping costs in Canada, and they declined to do an interview but sent a response via email.

Company spokesperson Lisa Liu said, "Parcel prices are completely unregulated and competitive within the industry."

"Canada Post sets shipping prices based on several factors, including origin and destination, which also consider population density. The weight and size of parcels, as well as processing and delivery costs, are taken into account in the price."

Meanwhile, Pitman wants to support local sellers and purchase from sellers in North America. But as long as shipping costs remain high, he finds it hard to justify, saying, "I would prefer our Canadian and American suppliers, but it just doesn't make sense in reality."