Import duty into U.S.

[greenc]

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all well and looking at a great weekend. Do any of you have experience lately with bringing jackets into the U.S. from the UK and/or EU?

If I'm not mistaken the $800 exemption has been done away with but it won't go into effect until 2027, yes?

Also, is the import duty calculated by state tax or is it a federal rate? Finally, I know that U.S. Customs has different classifications for different items and the tax/duty is dependent on that but does anyone know what that rate typically falls at? Or again is it by state?

If you can please enlighten me I'd be appreciative - I've checked with U.S. Customs and still can't tell what the answer is.

Speak soon.

Chris

 

[Trouser Bark]

I have had a subpar experience recently, directly related to current tariff concerns and more. I bought a Lewis Leathers jacket from Oxfam in London and a few days later they expressed concern over the potential costs associated w/ shipment to the US. I said I'd cover it all regardless of what the costs were and that they had my pre-approval to place those charges against my credit card without further discussion.

Apparently it wasn't worth whatever hassle they perceived imagined and ultimately they refunded my money and said 'mkaythanksbye'!

 

[RDS]

I have had a subpar experience recently, directly related to current tariff concerns and more. I bought a Lewis Leathers jacket from Oxfam in London and a few days later they expressed concern over the potential costs associated w/ shipment to the US. I said I'd cover it all regardless of what the costs were and that they had my pre-approval to place those charges against my credit card without further discussion.

Apparently it wasn't worth whatever hassle they perceived imagined and ultimately they refunded my money and said 'mkaythanksbye'!

Whether any hassle was perceived or otherwise there’s probably only one management or administration team responsible for the decision not to ship the Lewis Leathers jacket to you, and it’s not Oxfam in London.

Given there’s a good chance they will be able to easily and swiftly sell the jacket to a UK based buyer why would they, or any other similar business, get involved with the additional work which may now be required when sending items to the US ?

 

[jchance]

Until the law changes in 2027, it stays the same as before. Import falls under federal laws. Over $800 leather jacket gets charged 6% under:

“4203.10.40 - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, of leather or of composition leather: Other, coats and jackets.”

If you know you are going to be over the $800, confirm with them that they put the right harmonization code. I've seen others had leather jackets labeled as cotton jackets, which is an extra 3.6%.

 

[greenc]

Until the law changes in 2027, it stays the same as before. Import falls under federal laws. Over $800 leather jacket gets charged 6% under:

“4203.10.40 - Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, of leather or of composition leather: Other, coats and jackets.”

If you know you are going to be over the $800, confirm with them that they put the right harmonization code. I've seen others had leather jackets labeled as cotton jackets, which is an extra 3.6%.

Thank you @jchance I appreciate the information, that's very helpful. I wonder if the $800 minimum will be restored when the administration changes hand during the next election. I think the roll-out of the tariffs has been subpar at best in terms of communication to retailers in the U.S. and overseas - it's a bit of a mess, really.

@Trouser Bark I'm sorry to know you had that experience with Lewis Leathers, that's very frustrating. I wonder if a UK forum member would be your proxy of sorts - maybe they could pick up the jacket and ship it to you.

I once had a friend from Spain buy a mountain bike in Washington, DC when I was living there and he asked me to pick it up at the store and ship it to him because the store couldn't get its act together enough to do it directly - that was an expensive proposition given the size of the crate and the ultimate weight but it worked.

Is there anyone in UK that could help a fellow TFL-er out?

Thank you as always for the collective information, hope you're all looking at a terrific weekend.

Chris

 

[Zoro]

European here. On the proxy, you might even use some company for that purpose. I've done it with a couple local services but it has become harder since Brexit and I've actually never used them since precisely due to that. Long story short, I would use it to buy items they wouldn't ship out of UK and now it wouldn't be worth using them due to import fees.

I must say I feel Lewis Leathers not wanting to risk it due to how uncertain the current situation is. You can promise and guarantee payments to them but ultimately there's still potential headaches that may make someone reconsider what's the return of investment in a single sale and thus not want to go ahead with it. I personally avoid even considering buying things in US now precisely due to that, so I would imagine that selling things may not be particularly different.

 

[greenc]

European here. On the proxy, you might even use some company for that purpose. I've done it with a couple local services but it has become harder since Brexit and I've actually never used them since precisely due to that. Long story short, I would use it to buy items they wouldn't ship out of UK and now it wouldn't be worth using them due to import fees.

I must say I feel Lewis Leathers not wanting to risk it due to how uncertain the current situation is. You can promise and guarantee payments to them but ultimately there's still potential headaches that may make someone reconsider what's the return of investment in a single sale and thus not want to go ahead with it. I personally avoid even considering buying things in US now precisely due to that, so I would imagine that selling things may not be particularly different.

Thank you @Zoro, I wonder if that's the case with jacket manufacturers in EU countries as well as UK. And what of Japan? Has anyone had a difficult time getting items from there lately?

 

[Tom71]

European here. On the proxy, you might even use some company for that purpose. I've done it with a couple local services but it has become harder since Brexit and I've actually never used them since precisely due to that. Long story short, I would use it to buy items they wouldn't ship out of UK and now it wouldn't be worth using them due to import fees.

I must say I feel Lewis Leathers not wanting to risk it due to how uncertain the current situation is. You can promise and guarantee payments to them but ultimately there's still potential headaches that may make someone reconsider what's the return of investment in a single sale and thus not want to go ahead with it. I personally avoid even considering buying things in US now precisely due to that, so I would imagine that selling things may not be particularly different.

Spot on.

It´s not the rules per se that strangle the markets it´s the uncertainty.

What products? How much? From when? The situation changes almost daily, and even if sellers and buyers are keeping track - are you really sure that customs officials will apply the rules as you understand them?

Business into the US from the Classifieds has almost stopped, but what is an inconvenience for us, is a real bummer for organisations (a lot of them SME´s) who are making a living for and are employing a lot of people by doing cross-border business.
Meanwhile, inflation is skyrocketing, and the consumer picks up the bill.

 

[jchance]

Honestly if you’re in the US, you have no business shopping in the EU. Sure, the tariffs **** but it’s there for a reason: to encourage buying domestic. The US is home to great leather jacket makers, I don’t see why you’d want to shop in the EU for a leather jacket. Excellent alternatives exist and would serve you well.

JP is a special case because of its robust second-handed market with very attractive pricing, if you’re size 36-38 and have Asian body frame. If you have an average American body frame, JP jackets don’t even fit you.

 

[Trouser Bark]

...there’s probably only one management or administration team responsible for the decision not to ship the Lewis Leathers jacket to you, and it’s not Oxfam in London.

Ok... you've got me. If Oxfam doesn't make their own decisions, who do they defer their business decision and policy making to? It was Oxfam I was chatting with as this transaction was unravelling.

Given there’s a good chance they will be able to easily and swiftly sell the jacket to a UK based buyer why would they, or any other similar business, get involved with the additional work which may now be required when sending items to the US ?

The jacket didn't move and after several days of thinking about it I bought it. As to why they might ship to the US my thought would be why not? International shipments are simple and I've had UK shipments delivered to my US post office several times. In this instance the only variable is the potential tariff snafu and you can't get any better than a customer telling a vendor that he'll pay any and all charges carte blanche.. Is there something specific you're referring to that I'm missing?

...and yeah, I was bummed but as is the case in many things it's rarely the kill; it's the thrill of the chase.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Honestly if you’re in the US, you have no business shopping in the EU. Sure, the tariffs **** but it’s there for a reason: to encourage buying domestic. The US is home to great leather jacket makers, I don’t see why you’d want to shop in the EU for a leather jacket. Excellent alternatives exist and would serve you well.

JP is a special case because of its robust second-handed market with very attractive pricing, if you’re size 36-38 and have Asian body frame. If you have an average American body frame, JP jackets don’t even fit you.

The guys at Thedi and Aero might be a little disappointed to hear that, eh?.

 

[jchance]

The guys at Thedi and Aero might be a little disappointed to hear that, eh?.

I would happily skip out on Aero. For Thedi, JL can make you whatever Thedi’s design and hide that you want. It might not be as fitted as Thedi though, that guy has an eye for fitting really well. Regius is on par with Field Leathers.

 

[Tom71]

Honestly if you’re in the US, you have no business shopping in the EU. Sure, the tariffs **** but it’s there for a reason: to encourage buying domestic. The US is home to great leather jacket makers, I don’t see why you’d want to shop in the EU for a leather jacket. Excellent alternatives exist and would serve you well.

JP is a special case because of its robust second-handed market with very attractive pricing, if you’re size 36-38 and have Asian body frame. If you have an average American body frame, JP jackets don’t even fit you.

Well I am in Europe and while I have my share of Lewis Leathers, Thedis etc., I also buy Schott, Lost Worlds, Vanson. Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be doing that?

Sure you can on- or near-shore production that has moved elsewhere but at what cost and when?!

Bartender Edit:

Let's please keep this thread to the practicalities viz the information sought about the tarifs. We continue to operate a strict ban on this discussion of contemporary politics here on TFL, so please let's avoid discussion of the policies and personalities behind these tarifs in order that the thread can stay open.

 

[belfastboy]

I have had a subpar experience recently, directly related to current tariff concerns and more. I bought a Lewis Leathers jacket from Oxfam in London and a few days later they expressed concern over the potential costs associated w/ shipment to the US. I said I'd cover it all regardless of what the costs were and that they had my pre-approval to place those charges against my credit card without further discussion.

Apparently it wasn't worth whatever hassle they perceived imagined and ultimately they refunded my money and said 'mkaythanksbye'!

I am a custom hat maker located in Canada. Over half my clients are in the USA. The tariff concerns over these past few months are greatly overblown. None of my many shipments into the USA in the first 6 months of this year have been affected at all......to zero effect.

I ship both via postal service and courier, whichever is cheapest at the time and they have all been delivered within the posted time frame with zero added duties, taxes nor handling.

 

[Trouser Bark]

I must say I feel Lewis Leathers not wanting to risk it due to how uncertain the current situation is. You can promise and guarantee payments to them but ultimately there's still potential headaches that may make someone reconsider what's the return of investment in a single sale and thus not want to go ahead with it. I personally avoid even considering buying things in US now precisely due to that, so I would imagine that selling things may not be particularly different.

My apologies, Zoro. It wasn't Lewis Leathers that refused my purchase, it was Oxfam which as I understand it is a sort of thrift store that sells used goods. I've never spoken w/ LL directly and probably wouldn't as they've migrated from a leather goods supplier to a company that is peddling leather and provenance. Nice jackets and all but I'm outside their target demographic.

 

[Zoro]

My apologies, Zoro. It wasn't Lewis Leathers that refused my purchase, it was Oxfam which as I understand it is a sort of thrift store that sells used goods. I've never spoken w/ LL directly and probably wouldn't as they've migrated from a leather goods supplier to a company that is peddling leather and provenance. Nice jackets and all but I'm outside their target demographic.

My mind registered Oxfam as someone's name. I know the charity shop, so that's where you found the jacket? Do they have online presence? I'm honestly shocked someone would donate a LL to them.

 

[Trouser Bark]

My mind registered Oxfam as someone's name. I know the charity shop, so that's where you found the jacket? Do they have online presence? I'm honestly shocked someone would donate a LL to them.

They do and I heard about the jacket in the finds and deals thread (I'm a US46). This one:

Nice deal on a Lewis 551 for the larger person and it’s to charity as well, which means is barely even counts as a purchase!: https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/lew...v1c7LSK24RqZvHsaAmyzEALw_wcB&sku=HD_303003146

 

[greenc]

Honestly if you’re in the US, you have no business shopping in the EU. Sure, the tariffs **** but it’s there for a reason: to encourage buying domestic. The US is home to great leather jacket makers, I don’t see why you’d want to shop in the EU for a leather jacket. Excellent alternatives exist and would serve you well.

JP is a special case because of its robust second-handed market with very attractive pricing, if you’re size 36-38 and have Asian body frame. If you have an average American body frame, JP jackets don’t even fit you.

@jchance, I agree that the U.S. does have some fantastic jacket makers but if I'm interested in an Eastman jacket, or something from Bill Kelso I'm out of luck buying it retail in North America.

That said, I'm always gonna look for a deal on a pre-owned piece first but even checking with the folks over at Vintage Leather Jacket forum a lot of what's on the Buy/Sell page is UK based.

Same with Thedi, if I want a custom jacket the only way is buying it from Thedi and then paying the freight - but that's only part of the issue, the exchange rate U.S. to GBP or Euro is also taking a bit of the fun out of things, and for anyone in Canada it's even worse.

 

[Trouser Bark]

...if I want a custom jacket the only way is buying it from Thedi and then paying the freight - but...

You might be able to go through Thurston for something like that but that process would not change the nuts and bolts behind the transaction.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Yours is an interesting opinion, RDS. It is very rare for a seller to decide they don’t want more business and more money. The buyer’s vote counts more 99% of the time. That might apply poorly to junk dealers and 2nd hand shops but perfectly everywhere else. For example, the US is BMW’s largest market. Think they might be happy to write the US buyer off as too much hassle? Def not. They’re sh*tting their pants trying to figure out a work around and the typical US buyer is completely unconcerned.