After April 9th, 2025, US tariffs on tea from Taiwan are likely to rise from 0% to 32%. I never thought this would happen in the country whose independence movement was started by a tax revolt against import duties on tea, the Boston tea party on December 16, 1773! Luckily for my US customers, my online boutique has experience exporting to countries all around the world, including Belgium and South Korea, countries that impose strict import duties. Let me share some of my thoughts and actions to counter these tariffs.
We can expect the implementation of collecting duties to focus on the largest trades (business to business) and not small packages. It takes time to put a system in place to collect duties for millions of small packages arriving from abroad. From my experience with European customs, the larger the package and the higher the value of the goods, the more likely they are to impose duties. I expect the same in the US. Another reason that individuals might be exempt in practice from duties is political, because individuals are potential voters and it makes more sense to charge tariffs to Nike, Apple or BMW than to Joe Smith. Anyway, even if this isn't the case, my online store will implement the same tactic as with other countries that charge duties: we will reduce the declared value of the package so that won't generate much duties if some were still charged on it.
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| Spring 2025 SiJiChun Oolong |
I want to thank all the American customers who have and will continue to order tea from my selection.
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