I am in USA where the whole tariff thing is getting crazy. To keep this non-political, I won't elaborate.
My vehicle will probably need new tires this coming fall. They are still legal, just barely, but won't have much tread in snow next winter. Decided which tire I wanted to buy, asked at the shop where the tires were made, he did not know as that tire company has plants in about five countries, one of which is in China and one in the EU. So, I decided to get new tires now since I know I will need them in a half year. By luck of the draw, that size of that model are made in USA, thus there would not have been tariffs if I had waited.
But, when local production has less competition because the tariffs made their competitors costs go up, that means the local producers can raise their prices too, without losing customers. So, I am 100 percent certain that the tires cost less now than they would have in another half year if I had waited. So, I am glad I got them now.
When I bought my Nomad Mk II frame and fork in 2013, the box also had the CSS rims and a lot of other parts and supplies. If the value was less than $800 USD, there would have been no customs duty. But the value of the box was over that, thus I had to pay duty on the full value, not just the value over the first $800. If SJS would have put it into two boxes, each at a value less than $800 USD, the shipping cost would have been higher but no customs duty.
