Parcels to USA

[woodieallen]

And herein lies a potential problem.

The UK is not in the EU, both the EU and the UK will find it very difficult to diffentiate between non domestic sources (local origin rules etc) so both will need simple regulations which are most likley to be based on a binary "in or not in" rule.

If the "low value, duty = free" law is changed and the UK mirrors the EU it will cost consumers in both areas both money and inconvenience. It's not the duty per se, its the administration costs to calculate and collect that duty. Plus of course the shipper's profit margin. Your low value parcel of machine spares from (say) Germany to the UK will come more slowly and cost £20 in fees even if the value is only £10 and the duty is only £1.50.

Protecting local producers may be a legitimate objective, but it's coming 50 years too late. Many are no more, and we depend on global trade to get what we want/need. Reguation to stop or limit Shein and Temu will affect us all.

The US has thrown a pebble into the pool, the ripples will reach us all.

Yebbut...aren't we mired in all that stuff already thanks to Brexit ?

 

[Richard_C]

Yebbut...aren't we mired in all that stuff already thanks to Brexit ?

Yes of course, it’s all much harder than it needs to be. But for now the low value rules help hobbyists and diy users.

 

[niall Y]

I purchased a small brass1/4" BSP to 1/8"BSP reducer recently, from Ebay. The cost was in the region of £3.20. What I had absent mindedly failed to notice, was that the seller was located in China. When it finally arrived in a small envelope I saw the customs declaration on the front and realised my mistake. This obviously explained why it had taken so long to arrive.

When I looked at the tiny component in my hand, I had to ask myself how this small sale could ever be financially viable. It had travelled half way round the world, probably by air-freight and ended up at it's correct destination. There has to be some form of subsidy going on to make this business model work.

What America is doing, in a rather crude way, is putting a stop to this. Though it is rather like " Shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted" And, to elaborate on this metaphor. - I can't see how the horse is going to magically find its way back, no matter how firmly the door.is shut.

 

[Tris]

If memory serves, weren't China given subsidised postal rates after ww2 in order to help boost their economy? I believe this has yet to be withdrawn, explaining how a small package can be sent from China to the UK for less than a pound. I seem to recall a certain American railing against this first time around.