Happy March and Welcome Back to my Small Business Blog and online shop.
It’s been a slow couple of months no thanks to GPSR and cost of living but I plug on. The one thing I need to keep an eye on while running a business is the frequent changes to tax and customs charges. Which is almost a full-time job, let alone any other job a small business owner needs to do.
The most recent update is the 25% tariff fees on certain products that were introduced by the current US government on 12th March 2025. So let’s take a look at it and what it could mean to myself, fellow small businesses and US customers.
What Is It?
“The US tariffs of up to 25% will apply on industrial-grade steel and aluminium, other steel and aluminium semifinished and finished products, and also their derivative commercial products” Source
On March 12th 2025, the USA imposed a tariff on all imports of aluminium and steel products. This particular tariff is world wide (not just to Canada, Mexico and China like other tariffs that have recently been introduced).
This means that any product sold that is made from aluminium or steel that is sent to the USA will have an additional charge put on them at US customs. I’m not sure about items marked as “Gift” on customs paperwork if they are exempt or not.
Will it Affect Me?
If you live outside the USA, then no. It is only for imports going into the USA. If you sell aluminium and steel based products to US customers or buy steel or aluminium from outside the US then it will affect you.
How Will It Affect Me?
In a nutshell, US buyers will be charged 25% by US Customs. Unlike how it is reported by some, the seller will not be footing the bill for these tariffs/charges. It is even within Etsy terms and conditions that the customer is responsible for paying any customs charges/tariffs
It will mean delays to customers receiving their item due to customs awaiting the additional charges to be paid. And customers being unhappy because they were unaware of these additional charges.
How Will it Affect Small/Micro Businesses?
This could have an affect on businesses. Especially those who are run by one or 2 people, like myself at Panda Motion Designs.
The sellers will not be charged the 25%, but buyers will be put off buying items from outside the USA due to the tariffs. And of course there will be customers who were unaware of the charges and will not pay it or they expect the seller to pay it. Resulting in the item potentially being returned to the seller due to unpaid fees, resulting in loss of income.
What is key here is to have good communication with the buyer. Letting them know about these charges they could receive early on in the order process so they could make a decision to continue or not. I already have a text template ready to send to a USA customer when an order comes in.
Which Panda Motion Designs products are affected?
This will affect my A5/A6 aluminium signs, aluminium bookmarks and the stainless steel water bottles.
Since the tariff covers industrial-grade, semi-finished and finished steel and aluminium products the items I have listed above will receive a 25% tariff charge at US Customs.
It will only be a couple of additional dollars required for US customers to pay. It will still be off putting for many. And since my most popular products are the aluminium signs I am expecting to see a reduction in sales sadly. I have read that the UK government are in talks with the US government to reduce or remove this tariff from UK products but it may be a while before that happens (if it does)
Conclusion
In conclusion, another set back for many small businesses. Especially those that are run by only 1 or 2 people like myself.
What’s the point? Well the aim is to promote US based steel and aluminium productions/sales. Wither you agree with this or not. It is here and it’s important to clearly communicate things between the customer and buyer to avoid confusion and anger.
I plan on messaging customers as soon as possible once an order is placed and I see it is going to the US and begin the conversation early as long as the tariffs are in place. Who knows what will happen later on down the line, will just have to wait and watch.
I will update on this blog if their are any changes. Please feel free to comment below or follow me on social media for updates.
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