President Donald Trump's tariff regime is making everything from American-made steel weights, imported yarn, and Amazon's "everyday essentials" more expensive while his immigration crackdown is causing worker shortages in key industries. These policies will work in tandem to slow down already expensive deliveries of your favorite goods.
I personally experienced these ill effects when my ASICS Men's Gel-Rocket 11s took 40 days to be delivered from somewhere in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Japan, or Cambodia, where SourcingWise, a supply chain management company, lists ASICS' manufacturing plants. Under former President Joe Biden, these countries were subjected to relatively low weighted average tariffs rates—4.63 percent, 4.11 percent, 2.86 percent, 1.58 percent, and 7.95 percent in 2022, respectively—but are now subject to reciprocal tariff rates of 20 percent, 19 percent, 30 percent, 15 percent, and 19 percent, respectively. Trump's tariff rates on these countries are at least twice as high as Biden's, and Americans are already feeling the pain.
Luckily for me, the sneakers—which are incredibly comfortable and snazzy—only cost a grand total of $64.95, which means they were covered by the de minimis exemption and spared the logistical challenge of calculating and collecting tariff revenue for Customs and Border Protection. Those shoes—and all other imports under $800—are now subject to tariffs since Trump eliminated the de minimis exemption entirely on Friday. Reason's Eric Boehm reports that the U.K. Royal Mail already halted shipments to the U.S. on Monday "while awaiting more clarity on the new rules for imported parcels. Postal services in Germany, France, Italy, and several other European countries have also suspended shipments to the United States or said they plan to do so."
