Last week, the government of the United States of America announced that it would raise tariffs. Please be aware that buyers living in the US will have to pay higher tariffs. Import duties and taxes are not included in the item price or shipping charges. All these charges are the responsibility of the buyer, not the seller.
After the Great Depression 100 years ago, countries implemented protectionist trade regimes that raised tariffs. These were among the factors that further promoted imperialism and wars of aggression which led to the outbreak of World War II. Reflecting on this, Western countries established a free trade system after World War II, and as a result, international trade has developed the global economy. Thanks to this, for many years our company has been delivering superior Japanese-made products to enthusiasts around the world.
However, the US, which was the driving force behind this development and benefited the most from it, abandoned free trade and changed its policy to protectionist trade. It is still possible to import our products into the US, but please be aware that buyers who are located in the US will incur increased costs because of the new tariffs. The current situation, as understood by our company, is as follows.
1. Part of the tax-free quota for imports to the US will be abolished. There was a "De Minimis" rule that exempted personal imports of small cargoes of less than $800 from paying customs duties. However, for imports from China and Hong Kong, these will be abolished. All of our products are manufactured by Japanese manufacturers, and they are designed and engineered by Japanese companies. Actually, a lot of them are made in Japan; however, some of our products use foreign brand parts or there are also some foreign-made products. Of these, with respect to Chinese products, the De Minimis rules may no longer apply.
2. Import tariffs into the US will increase. We've heard that the tariffs on vehicle parts to the US will be increased from May 3rd. Going forward, all vehicle parts imported from Japan will be subject to an additional 25% tariff, which will increase the burden on the US buyers.
3. There is currently no means to find a way around these tariffs. Humankind has pooled its wisdom, promoted international trade, and built supply chains by dividing up the work each party specializes in, resulting in benefits for both manufacturers and consumers. We understand that each country wishes to protect its own industries, but it is unrealistic to build a factory in each of the 200 or so countries and regions around the world and manufacture everything in each country. Actually, our suppliers have absolutely no plans to relocate their factories to the US, and it is completely unthinkable because it would be highly impractical.
Please note these are researched by our shop and we will not be responsible for any incorrect information. These may change depending on future political developments. Please contact US Customs for the details. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to buyers living in the US, and thank you for your understanding. We favor free international trade, and our policy of delivering excellent Japanese products to people all over the world will not change.
Team Compass Auto