Hello,

An update for USA backers regarding tariffs.

As you probably know by now, at the very end of July Donald Trump changed USA de minimis policy, meaning that all goods packages coming into the USA are now subject to tariff charges from August 29th onwards (previously this was only applicable to packages of $800 and above).

I was completely unaware of this change in policy when I charged my shipping fees at the end of July/start of August. I had stated that my postage to the USA wouldn't take into account any charges at the purchaser's end, but that packages should fall under de minimis, and I wasn't expecting any US backers to receive additional charges.

As news of this new "emergency executive order" policy - to save the USA from Fentanyl smugglers, obvs - began to filter through (I didn't even hear about it until the middle of August), there was a general state of "wtf is happening and what do I do" among most small business people who ship to the USA. Complete confusion has reigned here.

Initially I'd elected to get as much out to the US as I could, so I've prioritised US orders and there's about 200 of my zine orders now somewhere between Royal Mail and the USPS. I have my fingers crossed these will reach their destination before the new tariff policy comes into effect, and that there won't be additional tariff charges when they reach you.

On Tuesday Royal Mail stopped all shipping from the UK to the USA while they work out how to handle these new tariffs. I've called Royal Mail and they've told me that because I was able to print postage and ship before their systems closed, these packages should reach the USA before tariff time. But honestly it all seems a bit of a shit show (surprisingly) so who knows. A big part of me thinks there's no chance the infrastructure is in place to be able to slap 10% tariffs on goods coming in with a marked cost of approx $15 each - and that surely can't even be cost effective to do so - but who knows 🤷‍♂️.

Where does that leave those still to receive their zines? Well, it looks like the new Royal Mail system will be able to add the 10% tariff costs at the point of purchase (when I print the postage), plus some kind of additional handling fee on top. This new system was supposed to be live today but I see nothing so far. It's unclear how much all this will cost at the moment, but unless it's crazy prices or the system forces me to use one of the more expensive tracked shipping options, I'll do my best to cover the additional tariff cost at my end. I don't think it's fair that some folks will (hopefully) get their zines without tariff charges and then for me to charge additional fees to others.

In the meantime, we're just going to have to sit and wait to see what the next stage of this debacle turns out to be. I would like to write more of my thoughts here, but I don't want it to affect my* 2035 green card application to the Chosen Democratic People's Union of the 51 States of America.

Cheers,
Andrew

*Hypothetical