the end of de minimus and this new 80 dollar fee for any product shipped from outside the US is a terrible idea. trump sucks AND NOW ITS AFFECTING ME PERSONALLYYY

@georgia@netzsphaere.xyz this is the end of sites like AliExpress in the US, right?

@anemone @georgia > implying every other store isn't also shipping from china

@anemone @georgia owned

@VD15@pl.valkyrie.world @georgia@netzsphaere.xyz yeah but I’m talking amid stuff that directly effects me

@anemone oh for at least 6 months yeah

@georgia 80$ flat fee /per/ product?

@lispi314 literally yes

@lispi314 @georgia this doesn't sound right

@meowski @georgia It'd be hilarious (from the outside) if it is though.

@meowski @lispi314 its true a bunch of independent small sellers are taking the hit of no longer shipping to the US for 6 months, after six months its just a tariff

@georgia where did you hear this @lispi314

@meowski @lispi314 ive gotten multiple emails about it from sellers mostly in the UK

@georgia @lispi314

it sounds like this is an option for the shipper to pay a flat rate *or* the calculated tariff, for 6 months. this doesn't mean you pay $80 for a $2 item on aliexpress

https://www.faire.com/support/articles/33595958349979

How will duties be applied following the removal of the de minimis exemption on August 29?

Starting August 29, goods shipped internationally through the postal system will be charged one of the following:

Ad valorem duty: A percentage-based tariff, calculated based on the value of the goods and the tariff rate of the country of origin; or
Specific duty: A temporary flat-rate fee of $80 to $200 per item (i.e., package), depending on the country of origin’s tariff rate. This option will be available only for the first six months after the policy goes into effect.

Only packages sent through the international postal network (e.g., U.S.P.S., Royal Mail, etc.) have the option of paying the specific duty instead of the ad valorem duty. After the six-month transition period, all international shipments will default to the ad valorem duty structure.
When might a specific duty flat-rate fee apply, and how is the amount determined?

The flat-rate duty is a temporary fee of $80 to $200, based on the country of origin’s tariff rate. This special duty may apply to goods shipped through international postal services (e.g., the United States Postal Service, Royal Mail, etc.) and could apply only during the first six months after the policy takes effect on August 29, 2025.

If a specific flat-rate duty applies, it will replace the percentage-based tariff (the “ad varolem duty”).

We believe the specific flat-rate duty is likely to apply to an entire package or parcel as a whole (e.g., one $80-$200 fee per package), with the ultimate determination made by U.S. Customs.

The rate is based on the IEEPA tariff rate (a special duty rate under U.S. emergency trade rules) for the country where the goods were shipped from (details about these rates can be found in Annex 1 of this Executive Order):

$80 per package or parcel – if the origin country's effective rate is less than 16%
$160 per package or parcel – if the rate is between 16% and 25%
$200 per package or parcel – if the rate is higher than 25%

If your shipment qualifies, the carrier the brand is shipping your order through, will decide whether to apply the flat-rate duty or continue using the ad valorem method. This flexibility allows some carriers to potentially reduce complexity for smaller, low-value items—but only during the initial six-month transition period.

To learn more about how this may apply, visit How will the specific duty flat-rate fee amount be applied, by item or package?

@meowski @lispi314 no, its an 80 dollar minimum rate per package (I think youre right its not per item) for six months, then its the tarrif rate. these sellers were in the UK where its definitely only but still incredibly excessively 80 dollars.

@meowski @lispi314 if your belief were true there would be no reason for so many sellers to make their service suspension of what constitutes often the vast majority of customers a temporary six month thing.

@georgia @meowski @lispi314 American businesses have been a joke for decades. Too many nepo babies and MBAs. Can't survive without arbitrary protection taxes.

Deming tried to warn everyone.

@georgia @lispi314 it says it's to "reduce complexity" so if you buy one or a few items, or something with a simple declared dollar value, there would be no reason to charge a flat rate. they'll just charge you the tariff %. that's what it sounds like based on the link i posted

@georgia @lispi314 people are going to be freaking out and doing silly stuff but this isn't that complicated. eventually once the dust settles they'll just update their e-commerce systems and charge the right %. lots of countries charge tariffs and VATs.

@meowski @lispi314 and yet i saw this and several other messages like it, so if youre correct these businesses are clearly in error.

@georgia @meowski @lispi314 business opportunity to start black market shipping company

@georgia @lispi314 it indeed looks like they are actually shooting themselves in the foot cause orange man bad. there is no way you're going to have to pay an arbitrary $80-200 flat fee on every single item you ship from overseas, at least that's not what it says in the link i found. if you find something other than an english person losing their mind over email, let me know

@icedquinn @georgia @lispi314 business opportunity to read the actual policy from an official source instead of shutting down your primary source of revenue unnecessarily cause you're freaking out

@meowski @georgia @lispi314 considering he changes the policy on a weekly basis quite a lot of companies have begun shutting down US operations

I had many notices come through my desk about it. Some are tentatively reopening, some aren't. People really don't like the idea of the rules changing six times in one quarter.

@georgia @lispi314 i just asked grok and it says it's either the flat fee or the ad valorem tariff, *whichever is LOWER* until aug 29. so it's literally a discount until the 29th lol

@icedquinn @georgia @lispi314 it definitely adds complexity and prices are going to go up on items, but yea to clarify, this is actually a discount until aug 29th. you get to choose the $80 rate or the tariff %, whichever is lower.

moreover we are $38T in debt so there's really no choice about this we have to pay it down and this is a better way to encourage domestic production rather than simply taxing everyone's income

@meowski @lispi314 grok sucks so I'll be ambivalent about it

@georgia @meowski @lispi314 you should reconsider life if you're using an LLM for legal advice

@meowski@fluf.club @georgia@netzsphaere.xyz @lispi314@udongein.xyz @grok is this true?

@anemone @meowski @georgia @lispi314

Re: the claim about tariffs (flat fee vs. ad valorem applying the lower rate until Aug 29)—yes, that’s true per current U.S. trade policy for certain goods (like EVs from China). The “whichever is lower” clause is designed as a temporary buffer before stricter rates kick in post-deadline.

But literally a discount? More like a bureaucratic “soft launch” so importers don’t riot overnight. Check the U.S. Trade Rep’s latest notices if you need receipts.

(Side-eye to anyone calling tariffs “lol”-worthy though. This shit breaks supply chains.) 🚢💥

@georgia @lispi314 grok is woke as heck but actually i did some coding with it today for client work and it spat out perfect code. saved me some time. it definitely sucks on some things. anything political or controversial, forget it. reddit tier takes.

@icedquinn @meowski @lispi314 one of the women who suspended orders in the US took a whole seminar about US tarriffs and the new law and her takeaway is "we dont know how this will affect us yet, but it won't be good". thats my takeaway.

i will never understand why people trust lie generators for advice or facts on literally anything, why are they so frequently the go-to problem solver for so many people?

@icedquinn @georgia @lispi314 notice how i looked for another source first before asking grok? grok does cite its sources though. it spat out a list of like 20 web pages. i wouldn't be updating any e-commerce systems based on a quick grok query without confirming. it just confirmed what was in the first link and simplified it

@georgia @meowski @lispi314 yeah you can't really bother with the US right now. Don't even bother reading the docs. He changes them weekly based on whoever he's threatening this minute.

People called me a retard for saying this is going to be damaging. But yet we can actually see people straight up saying pools closed.

Hardware is hard enough of a market and nobody is going to invest when the rules aren't even stable.

You aren't going to get American manufacturing back like this. It's literally cheaper to just assassinate trump than try to start a chip fab from zero.