Advice on US Tariffs

hand drawn map of USA with tariffs message.jpg

Update 23rd March 2026

From 23rd March 2026 shipping to the US is now FREE on all orders over UKP50, which is about US$65.  You will still be charged import tax (AKA tariff),see below.


Update 30th July 2026

The US administration has increased tariffs from 10% to 15% and more.  This is comprised of the old flat rate 10%, plus we are now being charged another 4.6% or more for our type of products. we are  See links at bottom of this screen for details.  


THE BASICS

It is common for items bought from one country to be taxed on entry to another country.  However, for many years items valued under $800 could be imported into the US tax-free.  This "de minimis" (low value) arrangement has now been scrapped by the US president. From August 29th 2025, all imports, irrespective of value, will be taxed by US customs. 

In short, if you are in the US and you buy anything from anybody outside of the US (England, Canada, Mexico, anywhere), then there will be import tax to pay.  That includes buying from Pinegrove here in England.



HOW MUCH ARE THE TARIFFS?

Currently the tax seems to set at 10%  for our music gear.  On top of that could be an "administration fee", set by the shipping company whose job it is to collect the tariff.  This could easily be more than the tariff!

So, on an item costing $100, you may also have to pay another $15 tax + $12 administration fee.  $27 total.


WE WILL PAY THE TARIFF FOR YOU

The main way to reduce the costs is for us to pay the tax on your behalf when we purchase the shipping.  This is called DPP.  The total amount is much less than if the tax is paid by you when the package arrives Stateside. You will see it added to the shipping fee on the Checkout page.

It could all be much worse! We are looking on the bright side and hope this does not affect our US sales too much.  We value our American customers greatly!


MORE INFORMATION

For more detailed information see  https://teleship.com/blog/us-import-duties-guide-july-2026  (Note that this information is written for online sellers.) You can also just ask Google "What's the US federal import tax for a guitar strap shipped from the UK?"

Please ask if you have any further questions. Go to the Get In Touch page to write to us, or email Pinegrove Leather.