There aren’t.

Maybe I should send a bill to Italy. Didn't someone say those foreign countries are going to be paying my tariff?

Just be patient. With those tariffs in place, it won't be long now until some U.S. company begins producing Veloflex quality tubulars!

You read it on the 'net so it has to be true, right?

Of course if we try to pinpoint who actually said this, this thread gets kicked into purgatory a/k/a P&R.

I used to order 86 bcd chainrings from Spa cycles in the UK and Carradice products directly from the company; that's gone. I used to order all sorts of goodies from Japanese vendors, that's gone. I used to order from some of the German mail order places as well. Plus eBay UK and France were good sources for old bike stuff.

Well, we can all be consoled by the fact that the supply of Schwinn Varsities is likely bottomless.

But they're expensive. I suspect most FB marketplace sellers of Varsities are charging by the pound.

It's always the little guy - you, me, the small sellers - who take the hit on this kind of thing. The more things change...

On a positive note, the part that I mentioned in my last post as en route / probably marked gift showed up - yep, marked 'gift'. Well, it got here, both sides are happy, and all's well that ends. I still have to get my hands on the part that got canceled, a loop-cable shifter of the type used by old Cyclo helical rear derailleurs. It's my curse that I'm addicted to ancient and obsolete tech, and that project may be sitting on the back shelf for quite some time to come...

What about our friends to the north? How are tariffs from Canada? 35%?

Canada and the United States continue to respect the USMCA free-trade agreement concluded during President Trump's first term. "USMCA-compliant" goods cross the border in either direction without duty. This is almost everything you and I would buy. The tariffs you are reading about, on Canadian bulk aluminum and steel, for example, apply to goods not covered under the scope of the USMCA treaty. (I don't know why most things are USMCA-compliant and some aren't. The trade negotiators on both sides must have been listening to lobbyists, I suppose.) Canada got rid of de minimis exemptions years ago, officially, but that said I don't seem to ever get charged duty on imports of bike parts from the UK or Europe. Nor from the US even recently, even for parts that weren't manufactured in the U.S.


It's always been understood that import duties are the responsibility of the customer importing the goods, as a taxpayer covered by his own country's tax laws. (That doesn't stop some people from swearing loudly, banging the table for emphasis, that the exporter or the exporter's government pays duties to the importing country's tax authorities, for the privilege I guess of landing their goods.) The additional cost of broker's fees is also familiar to us. Someone has to go to Canadian Customs and pay the duty to get the goods released. You could do that yourself if you drove to the port they entered at. But if you want the courier service or the Post Office to do that to save you the drive, you have to pay him for his trouble.

Doesn't the United States have a trade embargo against Russia? There can't be tariffs if there is no trade.
https://www.trade.gov/russia-sanctio...xport-controls
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Might see you at Velofest, then. Link to Velofest 2025 - Valley Preferred Cycling Center

Thanks for providing a solid example instead of speculation.

I ordered a set of old canti brakes from abroad a few days before the de minimus exception was rescinded. Didn’t beat the punch I don’t think. Package sat in some kind of “government facility” for a few days and is now back en route to me stateside. I fully expect to receive an additional invoice from UPS.

If anyone is curious, general bicycles fall under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) heading 8172. Parts under 8174. The canti brakes I ordered specifically under 8174.94.30.20, “Caliper and cantilever bicycle brakes.” Looks like I’ll owe an additional 30% duty on these $30 brakes if everything was labeled and processed correctly.

I wonder how hard Paul’s lobbyists worked to ensure that the domestic cantilever brake industry gets this important leg up? Hahaha.

I was hoping to buy some cycling shoes from 2velo, but I'm probably going to be putting that purchase on hold. Looks like I'll be having some oxfords modified locally by a cobbler.
Phil

So what I want to buy is an off-topic Deda fork for a gravel build from a seller in the great white north. The only distribution in the US Deda has is through BTI and their website has no forks. This fork was not substantially made in North America. At best it was made in Italy, more than likely made in east Asia. And as best as my dumbass can tell, it would not be USMCA compliant. Correct?

And if anyone is interested, a follow-up on the shoes from England. I finally heard back from their customer service. They said do not pay DHL and they will handle it, they will pay the $109.31. They are obviously trying to have superior customer service, which I appreciate. But if they lose less money giving a refund, take the return and not paying DHL, I'd be fine with that too.

I bought a complete Schwinn Suburban junior priced at $0.50lb .... Total came to $18.50

That's a serious deal on a dollar per pound basis!

I ordered a couple of items from a Polish eBay seller on August 22. They arrived today without additional charges / hoops. They were shipped via FedEx. I guess I have been lucky, so far, although shipping via FedEx is not cheap . . . .

Some of the items I've bought in the past are still listed for sale, but now with a fixed import price given. Others have a disclaimer on the top saying additional fees will be due to the shipping company on arrival, but not giving a fixed amount. Either way, it is going to cost an extra something. I wish a fixed import fee would be quoted on all the items I'm looking at because then I can at least make an informed decision. With some it's "wait and see what they charge", which I especially don't like.

It would have been nice to know in advance what the tariff fee might be. I probably would not have ordered had I known. But now that an appeals courts has determined that the tariffs are illegal, do I get my $35.50 back?

the court order was stayed until the appeal makes it to a very compliant supreme court who will do the usual. what do rich bureaucrats care about (fill in the blank...)?

And then there's sellers of used cars that think nothing of putting the buyer at risk.
There's a lot to be wary of in this day and age. No proof of ownership/registration? No safety certificate? Or worse yet, no keys? (The car is fine - just start it with your phone)
Better leave this off here as going kind of off topic.

-D.S.

The eBay notification doesn’t include import duties because it’s wildly inconsistent according to a seller I reached out to. He/she said it’s a mess for them and they expect wildly inconsistent charges to continue.

They also are thinking they will likely be out of business soon.

Last year I struggled to find a rear Zues QR, and ended up buying two fronts, plus a rear shaft-only part to make the pair, from a seller name tullio_s_quickrelease, in Italy. I wouldn't want to try that today.

On the bright side, polio will soon be available domestically.

I was at Canada Post yesterday mailing a return in Canada.
On the door was a sign that any US mailing (except letters) required prepayment of US Tarrifs. Canada Post required the person shipping to produce proof of what the US Tarrif was (either on an Ap on their phone or printed). The clerk told me they've been told to caution the person shipping that any mistake and the package will be returned from the US and the shipper charged for the return shipping. Lastly, apparently there is a glitch and so if you mail any photos from Canada to the US, for Tarrif purposes photos are considered taxable and must be declared.