Tariff Workaround - The "New De Minimis" Exemption

[Mystiko Neossia]

Ebay listings already have posted warnings about extra tariffs that BUYERS need to pay. Imagine how many people will pay Ebay Fees, taxes, shipping costs, and now Tariffs for inflated prices...it is time to cut back on spending. Glad I was able to get most of what I wanted before this crap happened.

 

[oCLEman1970]

I recently purchased an after market 3d Bob head for $317 from seller in Thailand. He unknowingly had to pay over $300 in tariffs and I had to pay $103 customs tax/fee. He has since raised his price by at least $100. Thank you Mr. President.

 

[LetsGoBrandon]

I recently purchased an after market 3d Bob head for $317 from seller in Thailand. He unknowingly had to pay over $300 in tariffs and I had to pay $103 customs tax/fee. He has since raised his price by at least $100. Thank you Mr. President

When Presidents spend more than they bring in, it puts us in a deficit. Trump spent $7.6 trillion in 4 years, Biden spent $8.4 Trillion more in 4 years. Presidents have been kicking the can down the road, but eventually someone has to pay for it. Did you think we would be able to print enough to pay back the national debt? Nobody realized we as Americans would end up footing the bill, yet here we are.

Great job scoring the Bob Head btw

 

[Mystiko Neossia]

When y
Presidents spend more than they bring in, it is us in a deficit. Trump spent $7.6 trillion in 4 years, Biden spent $8.4 Trillion more in 4 years. Presidents have been kicking the can down the road, but eventually someone has to pay for it. Did you think we would be able to print enough to pay back the national debt? Nobody realized we as Americans would end up fitting the bill, yet here we are.

Great job scoring the Bob Head btw

Someone does have to pay eventually. I always ask myself if the war in the middle east was worth it. Trillions spent for a country that never wanted democracy. America did have 0 debt in the 1990s, but that all changed after 9/11. Tax cuts have been a thing for decades, but that also hurt us in the long term. At some point our money will require action. I just hope what we pay isn't wasted.

 

[big bopper]

There is in fact a potential workaround that should theoretically allow us to conduct most of our usual business across borders without tariffs. The new tariff regime still allows an exemption for packages containing "gifts" valued under $100. This means that if a seller will play ball and fill out the shipping paperwork claiming the item as a gift, then the de minimis exemption might as well still be in effect. However, any legitimate business is unlikely to falsify the paperwork, so buying from that type of seller will definitely require paying the tariffs (i.e. Linegear, any real businesses on eBay, etc).


The trick will be how heavily enforced the gift exemption is. No one knows exactly how any of this will be done on the ground or how much emphasis will be on it from the top. I suspect we will still be able to do direct international transactions between individuals on the OF Exchange easily enough without paying, but it will probably make it much more difficult to buy via most other routes.

It may work differently in the US, but a potential pitfall to this is if you are shipping an item worth over $100 and it gets lost in the post, it's not going to be insured for the full amount. All you'll get is $100. If you're shipping an X-Metal for instance, you could be looking at a heavy shortfall.....

 

[Jurist]

Getting back on track here, has anyone tried importing something like an X Metal frame into the US as a sub-$100 "gift"? I'm very curious about how comprehensively they are enforcing the new gift exemption. Obviously we can't discern the full picture from a few anecdotes, but it would still be helpful to know what sort of valuation they are assigning to high-dollar Oakley items when detecting them in "gifts."

It may work differently in the US, but a potential pitfall to this is if you are shipping an item worth over $100 and it gets lost in the post, it's not going to be insured for the full amount. All you'll get is $100. If you're shipping an X-Metal for instance, you could be looking at a heavy shortfall.....

Yeah, I'm thinking that's the biggest downside of attempting the gift route. There are 2 gambles involved: the chance that it will be detected and taxed, and the chance of getting lost and being underinsured. It's not ideal at all...each buyer just has to decide whether it's worth it for each purchase.

 

[big bopper]

The other question I've pondered is whether they have enough staff to implement this law. It would require a fair increase in manpower to enforce to say the least.

There have been whispers of the UK's equivalent to the 'de minimus' law being axed, but that seems to be all they are at the moment.

 

[Lopaka KaMars]

It's already happening on Ebay. It doesn't even say how much fees it will take to get shipped.

 

[Lopaka KaMars]

I'm sticking to buying and selling in the US till things settle down.

 

[Lopaka KaMars]

I wonder how much this affects customizations? You're neither buying or selling a product.