Same for here in Canada. most every overseas seller no no longer will ship LiIon cells of any type to here, and even lately in some cases when they scan packages at the customs its either confiscated or sent back… I have been unable to buy Lithium Ion cells from anywhere online. ( I ordered from one US seller & they shipped them, but got sent back by our customs… All the local vape-shops are price gouging now because of that, (High-drain cells like 25R, 30Q, HE2, HE4s, etc. cost nearly 20 bucks EACH here in Canada at the stores… 
JudgeDredd, take a look here: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/3110015
I thought you may be able to bear with the shipping quotes I see for Brazil in that store if you look in their sales section and buy a nice lot (like 12 pieces).
Quite recently I ordered an VTC5A six-pack for less than 21€/25$. And, as usual, please don't believe in those optimistic ratings. 
Cheers ^:)
Does Lumintop’s AliExpress store work for you? Battery - Shop Cheap Battery from China Battery Suppliers at LUMINTOP Official Store on Aliexpress.com
Nobody ships batteries to Vietnam either (not without me coughing up $50/order). I’ve got from this store quite a few batteries of all sizes for cheap with Free shipping (especially cheaper with AE coupon during 11.11 and around May)
Persechini,
Thanks, but most of them are not shipping to us at the moment, or are just too expensive. As you said before, it comes and goes.
Barkuti,
Thank you, that might work. But, as you said, shipping will only make sense if ordering a lot, at least 8 or 12.
LG,
Thanks, but they aren’t shipping to me.
So far, the best solution I found is the “Sunway Store” on Aliexpress: free shipping (with tracking) via Turkey Post, and they have 18650 Sony’s and Samsung’s and 26650 Liitokala’s. I hope this might be useful for someone else.
Thanks for the links. Same problem here. I’ll give them a try.
Yes, thank you! They ship to Canada, too. I was hoping to find some Panasonic GA’s, but perhaps I should snap up some more Samsung 30Q’s while I can.
In my experience, it’s more like a case-to-case basis. I’ve talked to some people who are in the freight business. Some shippers have more relaxed restrictions and according to them, lithium batteries can be shipped provided they are separated or packed individually, meaning the batteries must not be in their usual 2-pack, 4-pack, 8-pack plastic containers. Of course, shipping in commercial quantities is normally prohibited, depending on the laws of both the country of origin and country of destination.
Could always find cheap OEM tool packs or laptop packs and pull the cells. They dont usually have the best of the best in them, but I found typically OEM packs have decent cells. If you look around, you can typically find a pack with 6-8 cells for $20.
Also does not hurt to try to find tool packs or laptop packs that have been discarded. They will typically only have one or two bad cells, and can find them for free
That works fine for lights of modest output, but for high-output lights (especially those using FET drivers), you really need high-drain cells. You won’t find those kind of cells in battery packs.
I do realize that, thats why I mentioned that they dont have the best of the best in them… But, if I were to have such a hard time finding cells, I would settle for decent cells that is affordable, than unobtanium
I’ve bought twice from http://mtnelectronics.com. You have to register to see batteries from outside the US. Shipping to here is expensive but it’s a reliable supplier. Batteries usually last several years so the investment is worth it, particularly when one wants the top models for high output flashlights.
Thanks Barkuti for the link. I liked the many models they offer, some are hard to find. Hope they’re not fake.
Dbsar, did you try some US retailers that ship to Canada by land? Takes longer but doesn’t have the shipping restrictions of air mail.
I have ordered a # of batteries from Mack Outdoors as they are in Canada. http://mackoutdoors.ca/
Also from Fenix. http://www.fenixtactical.com/fenix-tactical-upgrade-shipping.html
Yeah, but the prices! 
thevaporist.org is a Canadian vape shop. A little more reasonable prices, though I’ve never ordered from there.
I’m going to try the Sunway Store on Ali. Prices seem okay, and free shipping. From the reviews, it sounds like they sell genuine cells. I’m not in a hurry, so a couple of months wait is fine.
just had an order for a dozen 18650s ship out to Canada yesterday from the Liitokala Aliexpress store… via Turkey Post. It hasn’t arrived yet obviously but it has shipped.
https://liitokalahongkong.aliexpress.com/store/all-wholesale-products/217753.html?spm=2114.12010612.100004.3.3a521ca5kwwzpX
Yeap, shipping to Brazil is also back, albeit a bit more expensive than last time (around $8, now around $10) and not for all batteries (Sanyo GA based lii-35A can’t, for example)
Looks like they’re a little more expensive that the ones I ordered yesterday from the Sunway Store.
Shipped already, with tracking. Hopefully genuine. I’ll post back in a few weeks when I get them and try them out.
I have no idea why they call them Liitokala cells, when it doesn’t even look like the rewrap them???
A quick google search shows 9 SUNWAY stores on Ali , and that’s just the first page of results!
Which one specifically?
I believe it will be this one 
https://sunway.aliexpress.com/store/3173029?spm=2114.12010608.0.0.7338d402TkW3zx
That’s the one I ordered from. I have no idea if it’s the one that Dredd was referring to, but they do ship via Turkey Post, which ships to Canada.
Although I’m not having problems with shipping 18650 cells to my country, that powerbanks idea came to my mind as well.
Does Xiaomi really use those LG 3350mAh in their powerbanks? Does that mean that e.g. their Xiaomi 10 000 mAh contains 3 of them? Considering sometimes very nice prices with a coupon around USD 10-12, it really could be a way to get 18650 cells for say USD 3-4 each, not including shipping for affected countries.