If you order products from abroad this holiday season, you could end up with an unwanted surprise: a pricey tariff bill.
This is the first holiday shopping season since the Trump administration made a major change to customs rules, extending tariffs and customs fees to low-value packages that had long been exempt.
Since the new policies went into effect in late August, shoppers have reported being hit with surprise tariff charges on everything from rugs and computers to vitamins — sometimes costing hundreds of dollars.
Now, as the busiest shopping season of the year gets underway, the stakes are high for both consumers and retailers.
The National Retail Federation estimates that U.S. holiday sales will top $1 trillion for the first time this season, and Adobe Analytics expects shoppers will spend a record $253.4 billion online this holiday season.
Shoppers who buy gifts from overseas should be prepared to pay tariffs before they can put their presents under the tree. And those who dispute an unexpected tariff bill should be ready for a potentially monthslong back-and-forth with major shippers — while late fees pile up.
The $657 tariff bill
Bonnie Hardy-Compagno thought she’d be paying a standard 15% import duty from Europe when she ordered $431 worth of skincare products in late August that were shipped from Belgium.
Instead, when her package arrived via UPS in September, she was told that she owed customs charges and fees that were more than the items were worth.
“I was very shocked when it showed up and the delivery driver was like, ‘This is going to be $657 to collect your package,’” said Hardy-Compagno.
Hardy-Compagno refused her package of skincare products and reached out to UPS for clarification.
According to forms and emails she received from UPS, the shipping company said the face creams and serums she ordered had triggered a 200% tariff because they contained aluminum that was either from Russia or from an unknown country, as well as a separate 50% steel tariff.
“It is chaos trying to get it resolved,” she said. “I’ve been calling at least once a week for two months. I have been emailing.”
“They finally sent me a form to fill out about quantities of aluminum in the product, which I have no idea,” she continued. “If you go look at the product to pull up ingredients, it’s just the ingredients that’s in the skincare product.”
Last month, UPS sent her another invoice for a $65 late fee. She said the company had also sent the bill to collections.
“At this point, I’m like, ‘It would have been cheaper for me to fly to Paris,’” Hardy-Compagno said.
Ripple effects around the world
For nearly a century, low-value packages have been allowed to enter the United States duty-free, under what’s known as the “de minimis” exemption. Since 2016, that threshold value has been $800.
But this summer, President Donald Trump ended the exemption, saying it had been used to bring illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States. Starting Aug. 29, low-value packages shipped to individuals have been subject to the same tariffs and fees as large commercial shipping imports.
The change is part of a bigger push by the Trump administration to reshape global trade with a constantly shifting mix of blanket tariff rates on U.S. trade partners and separate tariffs on specific products and materials.
The president has said his tariff-based economic policy will boost domestic manufacturing and improve the U.S. economy in the long run.
But in the meantime, American businesses and consumers are paying a price.
Many U.S. retailers have decided to raise their prices to account for these higher import costs.
Some international businesses have stopped shipping to the United States altogether, saying it’s not financially feasible to pay big tariffs in order to ship small items.
And several major companies — including Costco, cosmetics giant Revlon and eyeglasses maker EssilorLuxottica — have sued the Trump administration over the tariffs.
Chaos at customs
The new requirements for smaller packages have caught consumers in a customs nightmare.
Thousands of packages every week are getting stuck in customs limbo at global shipping hubs across the country.
UPS, the world’s largest courier, has told some customers that it has been “disposing of” their packages.
Packages that do make it through customs clearance and to customers can still arrive with the hefty tariff price tags. And shipping companies typically tack on additional processing fees, too.
The factors influencing a shipment’s eventual tariff charges include “where it comes from, what it’s made out of, and what the finished product is classified as,” said John Pickel, vice president of supply chain policy at the National Foreign Trade Council.
But these questions are more complicated than they sound.
In a statement to NBC News, UPS said, in part: “UPS’s brokers are highly trained and use sophisticated technology to ensure accuracy in calculating the appropriate duty and fees due. If you feel there is an error in the calculation of the duty and taxes assessed to your U.S. import shipment, you can contact the UPS Billing group by using the number listed on your UPS billing invoice or contact the UPS Post Entry Department.”
“Our agents are working hard to address every customer’s inquiry as recent tariff policy changes have led to a significant rise in the number of brokerage-related inquiries,” UPS added.
How to avoid surprise tariffs
Retail experts advise anyone planning to order products from abroad this holiday season to be careful.
“If you are ordering overseas, the first thing that I would do is search for that item elsewhere to see if they have a U.S. warehouse, another retailer,” said Trae Bodge, a shopping expert at truetrae.com.
“It makes me very nervous to be ordering overseas right now, because it’s kind of all up in the air,” she said. “But if you must have that item and it’s only available overseas, read the fine print, especially at checkout.”
Consumers should be on the lookout for labels indicating “delivery duty paid,” or DDP. This typically means shipping costs have been included in the final price of the item.
Bodge also recommended searching for any mention on retailers’ websites of tariffs, taxes, shipping fees or other charges.
Shoppers can also check to see if the websites list where items are shipping from and reach out to retailers directly for any clarification or additional details.