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Japan Post, Good Smile Temporarily Suspend Package Delivery to U.S. Due to Import Tariffs
posted on by Anita Tai
Subsequently, Good Smile Company announced on Tuesday that it will temporarily suspend shipments from its store to the U.S. starting on Thursday.
On July 30, the U.S. government enacted an executive order to end "de minimis exemptions,” which is a provision exempting duties and formal entry requirements for imports valued under US$800. The law is set to end on August 30. The Japan Post cites a lack of clarity for postal services and bodies regarding procedures following this transition.
The postal service previously suspended deliveries by EMS, as well as delivery of parcels, small packets, or printed matter by air, to the United States in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background on New U.S. Tariffs
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to adjust current global tariffs and increase them for multiple countries on August 1. The new tariffs took effect on August 7.Trump announced on April 2 a baseline tariff of 10% on global imports to the United States would start on April 5. He also announced self-described "reciprocal" tariffs would start against many countries on April 9. Vietnam and Cambodia would receive some of the highest additional tariff rates at 46% and 49%, respectively, while Japan and China would receive 24% and 34%, respectively. The president then suspended tariffs for almost all countries except China, which he continued raising to an effective 145% (including tariffs levied prior to the current administration) over a number of days, with China responding with an escalation of its own tariffs to the United States that reached 125%. On May 12, the U.S. and China agreed to lower tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. cut the effective tariff rate on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, and China cut the tariff rate on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.
The White House posted a list of products exempted from the additional tariffs after the April 2 announcement. That list includes "printed books, brochures, leaflets and similar printed matter," which indicates books such as manga and other comic books physically printed in Asia would be exempted from the additional tariffs. The U.S. administration has since clarified other goods would be excluded from these particular tariffs, including steel and aluminum products, cars and car products, certain critical resources, smartphones, computers, and various electronic parts. The new U.S. tariffs also affect toys, figures, and other merchandise produced in China, Vietnam, Japan, and elsewhere in Asia.
The U.S. administration noted that it can raise tariffs further or lower them, depending on how countries respond. The current situation on the U.S.'s new protectionist tariff policy is extremely fluid and volatile, and has seen changes and clarifications almost every day.
Sources: Japan Post, Good Smile Company via Manga Alerts' X/Twitter account
