Comment by generj
8 days ago
If you bring back goods worth more than $800 it has to be declared and a duty paid.
Judging from the changes (currently paused) to the de minimus shipping rules (also formerly $800) I’d expect the threshold to be lowered substantially. Possibly arbitrarily while I’m on a trip and have already bought the goods.
The risk being if detained by DHS for who knows how long is not worth saving $400 on a MacBook personally.
It is highly unlikely my iPhone or Macbook will be checked for newness when on my person, or the iPads in my kids' hands. I'll just time these purchases around trips to Mexico or Europe.
Anything more powerful I will rent or colocate outside of the US in a rack somewhere, moving bits instead of atoms. In short, unless you spend a lot on tech, or tech that isn't portable, workarounds in some cases are available. Certainly, if you’re trapped in the US (or you need goods that are impossible to import on your person), you’re hosed and will be exposed to the tariff costs.
I am allergic to kowtowing to stupidity.
It was reported that they're getting rid of that as well.