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When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

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Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

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The annoying thing about this setup is that people outside the us pay tariffs going both ways. They must pay the us tariffs to send into the us and then they must pay their countries tariffs receiving goods coming from the us. I read that the EU is ending de minimus in 2026. This is going to really put a hurt on small businesses like crafters, used bookstores, antique dealers, … Yeah, it’s what they voted for, but ha…

I still find it baffling that Trump managed to convince people that, somehow, "China" is paying these tariffs, despite the fact that that makes no fucking sense . These companies in China aren't charities; even if the exporter were the ones directly paying the tariffs, it would simply be baked into the price of the good being sold. This really isn't hard. It's literally something I learned on the first day of high sc…

> "China" is paying these tariffs

What is China doing when they intentionally/greatly devalue the RMB?

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

#162

In the country where I live, these kinds of fees are generally referred to "import taxes", because it's the buyer who's having to pay extra money which is going to the tax authority, not the seller. While they can have an effect of encouraging domestic production, mostly they're a way to extract more money from the population.

Hello fellow Brazilian! We cry in 200-300% on top of shipping costs.

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

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Why exactly is China an enemy? They want to increase their standard of living and expand their sphere of influence. That doesn't have to hurt the US directly. What it may undermine is the idea that the US gets to unilaterally steer the developed world. On the other hand, perhaps that's a burden the US should be excited about tossing off. It's expensive to be the World Police, and it's left them with a lot of strained…

china is an enemy because they have a parallel financial institution that isn't controlled by the people who control the european/american financial hegemony and have enough military to stand up to te US uf war broke out.

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

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Sociopaths. It breaks me to see the Fed use interest rates to cause unemployment as the lever against inflation. It all seems so cruel.

Have you ever read about people burning piles of German currency because it was better than using it to buy firewood with? Not to say we would get there, but allowing inflation to run is not kinder.

Inflation like that doesn’t just happen. It can only be the outcome of explicit government policy. Like in post WW1 Germany they wanted to wipe the value of all domestic government debt they accumulated during the war.

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

#166
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>America had no idea how good they had it, in the before times. The downside is the insane consumption associated with that. Americans are responsible for an insane amount of pollution, far more per capita than any other people in the history of the world, much of which is tied to how easy/cheap it is to order shit we don't need. So, good if ya wanna buy cheap pollution, pretty bad if ya care about the next generatio…

> Americans are responsible for an insane amount of pollution So does Canada. > far more per capita than any other people in the history of the world Not even remotely close to true. Aside from that it's down 20% from it's peak 40 (!) years ago. > much of which is tied to how easy/cheap it is to order shit we don't need. The data does not support this conclusion. > pretty bad if ya care about the next generation. Spe…

> Speaking of trends.. care to guess which country has doubled it's pollution in the last 10 years?

I really don’t. I genuinely have no idea and I have zero interest in guessing. Just say it and stop wasting everyone’s time.

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

#167

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> It seems to be a rare exception that you'll see the seller is not paying the tariffs The seller won’t take the hit if that results in a loss. Surely the price just went up to include the tariff?

I expect nearly all foreign sellers have increased their prices to cover the tariffs. However, there are items selling for less than eBay says an individual will be charged in fees, so it's not just a you-pay-or-I-pay thing. Either eBay is exaggerating, or sellers are finding a way to get a better deal. It's a minefield for eBay buyers who likely won't notice the footnote means their $5 purchase will cost them $20+ i…

I actually expect quite a lot of smaller foreign sellers have just stopped bothering trying to sell to the US, because the price plus the hassle isn't worth it. Large companies of course still will, with some price increase.

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

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Specifically thin sliced potatoes fried in industrial lubricants.

Animal fats are just as well used (or were used, before oil) for lubrication. Most notably probably whale blubber

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

#169

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> The US doesn't have the climate to grown coffee Well, Hawaii does, but your point is good, thank you.

I knew that would come up :). Yes, Hawaii produces about 1% of the coffee consumed in the US. I'm guessing a chunk of that is consumed in Hawaii... But I'm glad you got the point. :).

Hawaii would even have mountaineous and that island climate that's good for growing coffee. But labor costs probably mean they couldn't compete even if they tried

Re: When UPS charged me a $684 tariff on $355 of vintage computer parts

#170
post #81

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Have you ever read about people burning piles of German currency because it was better than using it to buy firewood with? Not to say we would get there, but allowing inflation to run is not kinder.

Have you ever tried to start a fire with a bunch of paper? It doesn't work great, and what a mess.

Done it plenty of times.

Works great until you run out of paper.

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