IMPORTS AND TARIFFS (2 Viewers)

[Gunn Miniatures]

Dear All
As this seems to be a hot topic, we had this through from Fedex on Friday ref US import duties:

• Effective May 2 at 12:01 a.m. EDT, Duty-free de minimis treatment will be removed from products with country of origin from China and Hong Kong SAR China imported into the U.S. regardless of the shipment origin, except for those sent through the postal network. We will provide more details and required actions as soon as possible.
• De minimis is still permitted for the rest of the world "until notification by the Secretary of Commerce to the President that adequate systems are in place to fully and expeditiously process and collect duty revenue applicable pursuant to this subsection for articles otherwise eligible for de minimis treatment."

Checking the White House website, the following was stated in a slightly different format from Fedex:

• Following the Secretary of Commerce’s notification that adequate systems are in place to collect tariff revenue, President Trump is ending duty-free de minimis treatment for covered goods from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong starting May 2, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT.
  • Imported goods sent through means other than the international postal network that are valued at or under $800 and that would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption will be subject to all applicable duties, which shall be paid in accordance with applicable entry and payment procedures.
  • All relevant postal items containing goods that are sent through the international postal network that are valued at or under $800 and that would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption are subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item after June 1, 2025). This is in lieu of any other duties, including those imposed by prior Orders.

It would appear that China and HK are being hit particularly hard but US citizens receiving personal items from other parts of the world are still allowed to import them tax free, so long as the goods are declared to be worth less than $800. How long the rest of the world escapes these duties is of course subject to change but as the US receives 4 million De Minimus parcels every day, it may take some time to implement a system that can catch everything. Here in the UK we have had to pay VAT on most imports for years but not but all of them have VAT or any kind of Duty imposed on them as they pass thru UK Customs, as some Treefroggers will confirm, sometimes you get lucky and you don't pay anything, sometimes you do have to pay.

Regards Cathy

 

[Horus]

Personally, living in the UK and when buying and importing directly from China as Cathy says sometimes you get hit with the VAT import duties and Post office fees and sometimes not, where as all but once when importing from USA I have had to pay the VAT etc when buying from Treefrog/Sierra/Sagers/Hobbybunker.

Afraid it's just part of the hobby now and tariffs will mean higher prices for US collectors, who make up the majority of collectors worldwide, so that's going to lead to few figures and vehicles being bought and manufacturers having fewer releases for all of us.

In the big picture it all leads back to manufacturers closing their factories in the West to take advantage of lower production costs elsewhere and enabling things to be sold cheaper here as well as making bigger profits.
Basically we have no choice in our lives outside the hobby than to suck it up, in the hobby for many of those currently effected in the US and probably the rest of us at some stage, our spending habits will change in accordance, if we want to continue getting the latest releases, it will mean buying fewer.

 

[Barkmann]

Agree with Horus, buying from the US and now the EU [due to BREXIT] means you do get hit sometimes for import due and costs. I try to look at it as a glass half full rather than half empty and think how lucky i was not to be caught and do not have to pay.


Closing factories etc in the US and Western Europe was simply a way to make more money for the bosses [to coin a phrase], there are only 2 ways to make more money - increase sales and/or cut costs - they took the secondary route, plus i think there was also a tiny but significant shift and people in the West did not want to those jobs, unfortunately we live in a society which does not value people who work with their hands, trades people etc.

My thoughts and feelings go out to the US dealers and their staff, it is their living and as collected you can be peeved off that you figures etc are getting more expensive, but it literally what payes for the roof above their heads and put food on the table.

 

[NZGary]

Yep I feel bad for US dealers and collectors. However, things change quickly at the moment so this might not stick for long.

Yep have the same experience, always get caught for customs in the UK when ordering from the States but hardly ever direct from HK and China.