Tariffs

[Psi]

There are no good choices.... I cant really give the distributor a bigger discount.

You can block direct orders from the US and refer US buyers to your US distributers.

yeah, that is one option.

Website is just raw HTML with Paypal buy button anyone can click currently.  Might have to do some upgrades.

[EEVblog]

There are no good choices.... I cant really give the distributor a bigger discount.

You can block direct orders from the US and refer US buyers to your US distributers.

I'm curious to see what happens is I send another box of multimeters to Amazon in the US and see what DHL charge me. I send collect to my account, so if there is any tariff it should automatically get collected and charged via DHL?

[dietert1]

As a buyer in Germany i had to pay to DHL or Fedex several times when or after receiving a parcel from overseas. Customs, EU import VAT and their additional handling charge of about 12 or 15 €. 20 years ago DHL used to drop such parcels at a nearby customs office and i had to go there with my documents and make may payment to get the parcel, often with inspection.
Ebay shows a warning for such deals about additional cost after payment of item and postage. I guess the seller isn't affected at all, except they may have more paperwork for international deals.

Regards, Dieter

[PlainName]

It makes it more expensive to use the distributor than to order from me direct (since single international orders are under the de minimis limit and won't get tariffed).

So now I'm forced to decide, do i raise my own single unit price. It would keep the distributors happy but it seems like a dick move to normal customers.

Perhaps just keep wondering about it for a couple of weeks while doing your normal thing, and then the problem will solve itself due to the de minimis exception ending 

[EEVblog]

I just shipped a box of meters to Amazon in the US. No extra duty charges apart from the usual $20 or so for whatever that is.
Will see if my final invoice gets charged with anything extra as Amazon will only accept shipments DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)

[Ranayna]

It makes it more expensive to use the distributor than to order from me direct (since single international orders are under the de minimis limit and won't get tariffed).

Isn't de minimis supposed to go away too? So soon that advantage evaporates.

[tom66]

I just shipped a box of meters to Amazon in the US. No extra duty charges apart from the usual $20 or so for whatever that is.
Will see if my final invoice gets charged with anything extra as Amazon will only accept shipments DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)

Surely you will have to pay at least 10% tariff since there is no exemption for multimeters? (At least not today: maybe Keysight will start leaning on T, since they have a load of factories in Malaysia for their test kit.  Fluke make some stuff in China, but only the lower end stuff, IIRC.)

[tautech]

Until things settle down the USA marketplace seemingly won't get some new products whereas the EU and other markets will.
https://siglentna.com/digital-multimeters/
https://www.siglenteu.com/digital-multimeters/
https://int.siglent.com/products/digital_multimeters

[Psi]

It makes it more expensive to use the distributor than to order from me direct (since single international orders are under the de minimis limit and won't get tariffed).

Isn't de minimis supposed to go away too? So soon that advantage evaporates.

Currently only de minimis removed for goods from China and Hong Kong, but who knows going forward.

The problem with removing de minimis is the massive undertaking to hold packages until the person pays. The amount of small packages being processed every second is crazy.
They are going to have their hands full dealing with no de minimis from China alone.
Although I guess the china tarrifs should slow down the volume of stuff from aliexpress.

Trying to actually implement no de minimis from every country will either fail spectacularly and have to be put back in place, or require quite a long time and money to build the new infrastructure required to hold that many packages.

I was thinking maybe people could have their CC on file with courier to charge it automatically on import without needing storage but that has loads of other issues.

I guess they could always change the shipping rules into USA so that the tariff must be prepaid by the sender.

[tom66]

The way it's done in the UK is that the Chinese supplier pays VAT on your behalf, and this is added to the cost of the item at checkout.  They seem to be using a few consultancies in Europe to do so with specific names, e.g. eVatmaster GmBH was on my last one, it looks legit enough, though I wonder how traceable it is.

[bitwelder]

Trying to actually implement no de minimis from every country will either fail spectacularly and have to be put back in place, or require quite a long time and money to build the new infrastructure required to hold that many packages.

Has been calculated how much 'lost revenue' is from the 'de minimis' exemption, in % of the total collected customs fees (at least pre-extra-tariffs) ?

[dietert1]

The way it's done in the UK is that the Chinese supplier pays VAT on your behalf, and this is added to the cost of the item at checkout.  They seem to be using a few consultancies in Europe to do so with specific names, e.g. eVatmaster GmBH was on my last one, it looks legit enough, though I wonder how traceable it is.

ebay themselves provide that for international deals of their US sellers. Kind of a value added forwarding service. ebay don't provide any VAT document for this. I tried to get documents several times in order to get VAT refunded, but they didn't provide anything. For private consumers the loss is only the double postage.

Regards, Dieter

[EEVblog]

I just shipped a box of meters to Amazon in the US. No extra duty charges apart from the usual $20 or so for whatever that is.
Will see if my final invoice gets charged with anything extra as Amazon will only accept shipments DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)

Surely you will have to pay at least 10% tariff since there is no exemption for multimeters? (At least not today: maybe Keysight will start leaning on T, since they have a load of factories in Malaysia for their test kit.  Fluke make some stuff in China, but only the lower end stuff, IIRC.)

Nothing at the booking stage. We'll see once the actual invoice comes through.

[Psi]

Yeah,

When you have a DHL account you only know the shipping cost at time of shipping, not duty/tax/tariff at destination country. Normally that's not something you have to deal with, the end user pays it.
Unless you select the option to ship duty-paid. But even then you have no idea what you are paying until you get the DHL invoice some time later. Usually after the customer already got the goods.

DHL doesn't know what the government/customs at destination will charge. They could take a guess based on the goods and the tariff/tax % but they don't, it's too risky for them. Customs may disagree with your HS code and change a different amount. So it's all unknown until it goes through customs and DHL gets the bill and then they pass it on to you as the shipper.

Companies that ship stuff with tax/duty paid as part of your original purchase don't know for sure what it will cost either. They just know from past experience shipping that item and work that into the cost.  If it turns out they were wrong they eat the cost. Or profit if it was smaller than expected.

[Ranayna]

The way it's done in the UK is that the Chinese supplier pays VAT on your behalf, and this is added to the cost of the item at checkout.  They seem to be using a few consultancies in Europe to do so with specific names, e.g. eVatmaster GmBH was on my last one, it looks legit enough, though I wonder how traceable it is.

I wanted to bring that up, but didn't because VAT is not really a tariff.

But yes, the European Union forced large international sellers to register for VAT purposes. That way, the seller effectively pays the VAT, and the buyers actually see the true price they need to pay.
Tarrifs would be on top, but - until recently - these were rather rare.
Consequently, the original de minimis rules that the EU had (i think it was that everything that resulted in less than 5 Euro VAT was excempt) was abolished. Not all that many packages are left that are not VAT registered.

I am a bit surprised that this regulation is still in place in the UK. I thought that all went into effect a couple of years after Brexit.

[langwadt]

The way it's done in the UK is that the Chinese supplier pays VAT on your behalf, and this is added to the cost of the item at checkout.  They seem to be using a few consultancies in Europe to do so with specific names, e.g. eVatmaster GmBH was on my last one, it looks legit enough, though I wonder how traceable it is.

I wanted to bring that up, but didn't because VAT is not really a tariff.

But yes, the European Union forced large international sellers to register for VAT purposes. That way, the seller effectively pays the VAT, and the buyers actually see the true price they need to pay.
Tarrifs would be on top, but - until recently - these were rather rare.
Consequently, the original de minimis rules that the EU had (i think it was that everything that resulted in less than 5 Euro VAT was excempt) was abolished. Not all that many packages are left that are not VAT registered.

I am a bit surprised that this regulation is still in place in the UK. I thought that all went into effect a couple of years after Brexit.

2021, https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/index_en

[Zero999]

The way it's done in the UK is that the Chinese supplier pays VAT on your behalf, and this is added to the cost of the item at checkout.  They seem to be using a few consultancies in Europe to do so with specific names, e.g. eVatmaster GmBH was on my last one, it looks legit enough, though I wonder how traceable it is.

I wanted to bring that up, but didn't because VAT is not really a tariff.

But yes, the European Union forced large international sellers to register for VAT purposes. That way, the seller effectively pays the VAT, and the buyers actually see the true price they need to pay.
Tarrifs would be on top, but - until recently - these were rather rare.
Consequently, the original de minimis rules that the EU had (i think it was that everything that resulted in less than 5 Euro VAT was excempt) was abolished. Not all that many packages are left that are not VAT registered.

I am a bit surprised that this regulation is still in place in the UK. I thought that all went into effect a couple of years after Brexit.

2021, https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/index_en

Tariffs aren't the same as VAT, but they'll probably have a similar effect on the wider economy, once the dust has settled.

[nctnico]

The way it's done in the UK is that the Chinese supplier pays VAT on your behalf, and this is added to the cost of the item at checkout.  They seem to be using a few consultancies in Europe to do so with specific names, e.g. eVatmaster GmBH was on my last one, it looks legit enough, though I wonder how traceable it is.

ebay themselves provide that for international deals of their US sellers. Kind of a value added forwarding service. ebay don't provide any VAT document for this. I tried to get documents several times in order to get VAT refunded, but they didn't provide anything. For private consumers the loss is only the double postage.

How long ago was that? I ordered some items recently and I can download an invoice with VAT from Ebay.

[tom66]

Apparently, the tariff from the administration is now 245% on Chinese goods. At what point do they just put an embargo on it?  Because you might as well at that point.

The Chinese embargoing rare earths will be disruptive to Tesla, since the Model 3 at least uses neodymium magnets in it.

[PlainName]

When you have a DHL account you only know the shipping cost at time of shipping, not duty/tax/tariff at destination country. Normally that's not something you have to deal with, the end user pays it.

Since the end user or importer is paying the tariff (not the exporter), why can't they be stiffed for it on delivery? Like duty and all the rest - collected by the courier.

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

ebay and others have state by state Sales Tax Charges built into their billing to consumers.  Perhaps something like this is the way by which where they will be collecting the Tariffs for things bought by individuals?

[themadhippy]

Hope your not relying on Hongkong Post to send your tariff laden chinese goodies.

A government statement said Hongkong Post would not collect tariffs on behalf of Washington, and will suspend accepting non-airmail parcels containing goods destined for the U.S. on Wednesday, since items shipped by sea take more time. It will accept airmail parcels until Apr. 27.

“For sending items to the US, the public in Hong Kong should be prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the U.S.’s unreasonable and bullying acts,” the government wrote.

It will continue accepting mail that contains only documents

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/china-tariffs-hong-kong-post-office-b2734102.html

[vk6zgo]

ebay and others have state by state Sales Tax Charges built into their billing to consumers.  Perhaps something like this is the way by which where they will be collecting the Tariffs for things bought by individuals?

The USA currently regard Australia's GST as a "non-tariff barrier" as part of their justification for a 10% tariff on imports from this country, & that it is levied upon all sales no matter where the goods are made, & replaces the "state by state" Sales Taxes formerly charged here.
State sales taxes in the USA should by that argument constitute a "non-tariff barrier" levied against imports from other countries.

No matter the outcome of the current measures, they will increase the difficulty of doing business into the USA by all businesses, but disproportionately on smaller ones without dedicated import/export departments.

[EEVblog]

Just got this email from DHL:

Dear valued customer,
We would like to inform you of some temporary measures that we are introducing to our service to the U.S.

As you may have seen in the news, the President of the United States has issued several Executive Orders (EOs) imposing additional tariffs on all countries and eliminating de minimis treatment for all products with a country of origin (COO) of China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Additionally, shipments from all countries with a value over USD 800 now require formal entry processing into the United States. This limit was set at USD 2,500 prior to these regulatory updates. Previously, shipments valued between USD 800 and 2,500 could be cleared using a simplified and expedited informal entry process. These changes are being implemented under the emergency economic powers granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

While the pause on reciprocal tariffs for specific countries remains in effect, the recent requirement for formal entry processing on all shipments valued over USD 800 from all countries is still in place today.

As a result, informal (simplified) clearance is no longer possible for these shipments. These shipments are now subject to import customs duties based on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which may include: General Duty Rate, Section 301 duties, and applicable IEEPA duties.

Each of these shipments must now undergo individual formal clearance. Additional information and/or supporting documentation may be required for processing. This could include proof of the goods' country of origin. Furthermore, all formal entries must include the ultimate consignee’s Tax Identification Number (TIN), which can be either a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Employer Identification Number (EIN), along with supporting documents as needed.

Important update regarding shipments to the United States with a customs value exceeding USD 800: Transit time delays & temporary suspension of business-to-consumer (B2C) shipments

The changes outlined above have caused a significant increase in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock. While we are working diligently to scale up and manage this increase, we are experiencing multi-day transit delays to the U.S from any origin for shipments with a declared customs value exceeding USD 800.
To manage this situation, starting Monday, April 21, 2025, and until further notice, we will place a temporary suspension on business-to-consumer (B2C) shipments addressed to private individuals in the U.S. where the declared value exceeds USD 800.
Shipments with a declarable customs value below USD 800 are not affected by the suspension.
Please note that business-to-business (B2B) shipments to U.S. companies with a declarable value above USD 800 are not affected by the suspension, though they may also face delays.
This is a temporary measure which is designed to ensure that we can maintain our high service quality commitment for our customers. We will share updates as the situation evolves.

We will continue to process inbound shipments to the United States in full compliance with applicable customs rules and regulations. Furthermore, we are actively monitoring the situation and will work closely with you to help you understand and adapt to these regulatory developments.

Should you have any questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact your DHL Express representative. Thank you for your trust and cooperation.

[bitwelder]

...all products with a country of origin (COO) of China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

BTW, is nowadays Hong Kong (and Macau) generally considered just as rest of China mainland in terms of shipments, etc.?