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gingerwitch.livejournal.comWell, friends, we knew it was coming, we just didn't know how it would affect lego fans first. Unfortunately now we have an answer. 😕
International Bricklink and Brickowl orders have been impacted by the US's ending of the De Minimis exemption.
Brief Background: that's a rule that permitted small shipments to go untariffed, as that's more work (thus costing more money) than they traditionally would have generated. In the face of radically increased tariffs, that's no longer necessarily the case, and of course the sole point isn't to generate revenue anyway, but to shape international commerce / policy.
What's happening? As of tomorrow, Friday 29 August, international shipments still arriving (by and large) will start to be charged full tariff rates. In response, many parts of the world presently aren't shipping commercially to the US at all. Frighteningly, some countries have even suspended all mail delivery. The result greatly limits where American shoppers will be able to make purchases. As the inverse isn't also true, and this is non-reciprocal, the flip side of the situation for lego fans outside the US being we may see some reduction in prices, so keep your eyes peeled for sales as businesses compete for a smaller customer pool.
It's not just limited to the small businesses and their shipments, however.
Lego itself has been impacted by the current developments, most notably in the parts on offer in the North American Pick-a-Brick (PaB) stores. ( Read more... )
For the moment at least, it seems the rest of the world is not affected by this issue, but as we can learn from the situations in Mexico and Canada, we're all interconnected. Nothing happens in a vacuum.
International Bricklink and Brickowl orders have been impacted by the US's ending of the De Minimis exemption.
Brief Background: that's a rule that permitted small shipments to go untariffed, as that's more work (thus costing more money) than they traditionally would have generated. In the face of radically increased tariffs, that's no longer necessarily the case, and of course the sole point isn't to generate revenue anyway, but to shape international commerce / policy.
What's happening? As of tomorrow, Friday 29 August, international shipments still arriving (by and large) will start to be charged full tariff rates. In response, many parts of the world presently aren't shipping commercially to the US at all. Frighteningly, some countries have even suspended all mail delivery. The result greatly limits where American shoppers will be able to make purchases. As the inverse isn't also true, and this is non-reciprocal, the flip side of the situation for lego fans outside the US being we may see some reduction in prices, so keep your eyes peeled for sales as businesses compete for a smaller customer pool.
It's not just limited to the small businesses and their shipments, however.
Lego itself has been impacted by the current developments, most notably in the parts on offer in the North American Pick-a-Brick (PaB) stores. ( Read more... )
For the moment at least, it seems the rest of the world is not affected by this issue, but as we can learn from the situations in Mexico and Canada, we're all interconnected. Nothing happens in a vacuum.
