“It’s absurd,”: UK small business owners feel blindsided as US tariff exemption ends

UNITED KINGDOM – On Friday, Aug. 29 low-value items sent to the United States from across the world will have higher shipping costs, creating trouble for small businesses throughout the U.K.

The “de minimis” tax exemption previously allowed international packages valued at under $800 to enter the U.S. without extra taxes or fees. That exemption was ordered to end Friday by an executive order signed by President Trump in hopes of encouraging American consumers to buy more domestic products. 

As a result, packages from the U.K. will now incur an $80 charge per item under the current U.S.–U.K. tariff rates, in addition to other fees American consumers must now pay.

“You find out about these things really quickly before they happen,” Lydia Niziblian, a Welsh jewellery maker of 16 years, said. “You don’t really have any time to plan.”

Business owners like Niziblian and owner of London based Poppyloop Studios, Nikoletta Sharbel, have said that American customers were already having their packages stopped in transit because of shipping companies reacting to the executive order.

“I was getting my last U.S. orders out in the middle of August, and a friend of mine who also runs a business was finding they were already getting packages stopped in the States and the extra fees applied to the packages,” Niziblian said.

Niziblian officially announced on Aug. 14 via Instagram that she would no longer send shipments to the U.S. even though 25% of her business comes from American consumers. 

Commenters like Sarah McCartney (@4160Tuesdays) wrote things like, “One more arrow in the side of creative business,” and @jewleryboxrocks said, “He’s an embarrassment. And I’m sorry.” 

Sharbel says about 80% of her customers are American. 

“My income is going to be really low for the next couple of months probably until I manage to cover up the loss of U.S. customers.”

The U.K. Department for Business and Trade reports that American consumers spend “tens of billions in goods and services” in the U.K. annually. 

“I think it’s going to bite them [the Trump Administration] on the bum,” Niziblian said. “It’s a bit of a ridiculous policy, and I don’t think the American consumers will stand for it.”

“If you’re making something and it’s good enough that people want it in different countries, it would be lovely if there was more of a support frame to get it out there,” Niziblian continued. “But it’s stopping people from accessing it and that’s a real shame.”