The Supreme Court, Tariffs and ebay Sellers
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court invalidated a number of tariffs which had been created by Executive Orders under the authority of an Act which the Court decided did not, in fact, give the Executive branch the authority to create those tariffs.
1. The order does not invalidate all tariffs. Nor did the Court rule whether tariffs are bad or good. It simply invalidated certain specific tariffs because the Administration did not have authority to enact those tariffs, in part, because the Constitution gives primary tariff power to the US Congress, not the President.
2. There was some question whether the decision invalidated the Suspension of the de minimis $800 rule along with the tariffs. Whatever the answer to that question, the Administration issued a new executive order later in the day reaffirming the suspension, effective as of Feb 24. So, for all intents and purposes, the de minimis rule is still suspended. It is possible, maybe even likely, that this most recent order will be challenged in court because it relies on the same authorization the Court just said was invalid for enacting tariffs. But keep in mind that Congress had passed a law (The Big Beautiful Bill) which ends the de minimis rule as of July 1, 2027. The wheels of Justice grind slowly, as they say, and so unless a case is decided before July 1, 2027, or Congress amends the law, any decision will have little real impact.
3. There are other laws that grant the Executive some power over tariffs, and yesterday, after the court decision, at least one executive order was issued enacting a 10% flat tariff for 150 days, the maximum allowed by the law. Without going into detail, I'll just say it is likely we will see more tariffs enacted through some of these other methods, and also possibly through Congress. So tariffs are not going away. The decision is a speed bump on the tariff road, not the end of the road.
4. The decision has no direct impact on tariffs imposed on the US by other countries, it only applies to tariffs we imposed on other countries. While there may now be some changes made as the parties deal with this decision, it is safe to say that we, as ebay sellers, need to fill out the "Country of Origin" in the listing flow if we want to sell internationally.
5. Refunds. The court was basically silent on refunds of tariff payments already made under these now invalid tariffs, but litigation has already begun, with businesses trying to get refunds from the US Treasury for tariffs they had paid. However, the average consumer is not in a position to request a refund. You would need clear documentary evidence that you paid the tariff. If you bought an item at WalMart and WalMart passed the cost of the tariff onto you, you aren't eligible, because WalMart paid the actual tariff into the US Treasury, not you.
All in all, the direct impact on most of us as ebay sellers will likely be small, especially if the de minimis suspension continues.
(If anyone sees anything incorrect in my summary, please let me know.)
kh-samyak
·5 months agoHi everyone,
This discussion has gotten a bit off topic. Please bring the discussion back to the subject established in the original post, and please remember to keep discussions free of political commentary.
Thank you.
quicksilverdiecast
·6 months agoI have noticed a large increase in sales since the tariffs went into effect, since it stopped flooding the market with counterfeit chyna products or at lest putting them on equal ground, we are in manufacturing and retail sales, demand is high, and we are back to covid era situation for raw material suppliers/labor to keep up. The rate has been raised to 15%...
I get buyers from Brazil all the time asking to devalue the item as Brazil imposes a duty tax of 100% on imported goods from USA...so a 100% duty on Brazil imports to USA is just.
roccotacodad54
·6 months ago100% tariffs on American goods. At one time long ago I lived and worked in Venezuela (before the communists took over) and had to pay tariffs up to and including 100% if I wanted to buy anything from back home.
Then there was an election and I was warned by a government official friendly to Americans to leave before the new Presidente confiscated my money etc. In the end they served me with deportation papers and I had to leave my car and truck that I'd paid 100% tariffs on. I got my funds out though.
I don't think most Americans have a clue as to how most of the world has been treating us, not just Venezuela or Brazil. Even our immediate neighbors..........................
quicksilverdiecast
·5 months agoBefore international shipping got so bad that ebay had to create the Global Shipping where sellers sent to ebay and ebay sent to international buyer, taking all the risks involved..
It seemed like Brazil was the worst....when sending door to door. The Paypal policies did not match ebays as far as coverage etc. While scanned as delivered, buyer tried to scam it as INR and they denied the insurance claim saying it required and electronic signature...as proof...(after the fact) went back and forth as it was 400.00....being just as creative finally gave them an "electronic" signature...and case was closed in my favor...that was the end of sending door to door....everything goes through EiS period, ebay can have the headaches, of which has been numerous....
It always seemed that international buyers were always trying to get a false value declared as others have stated the "Import Duty" as it was called was 100% of the items value. If it was valued at 100.00 you paid another 100.00 import duty (tariff). This defeated a great many sales as those governments intended it to do.
It is ok for them to dump their products over here with little to no tariffs but not for US sellers to sell to their people....NOT anymore...equal playing ground...you want 100% now we want 100% from you...
moondogblues
·6 months agoJust my 2 cents...watched my fave oats from Scotland double in price on the big AZ in 6 months. That's what the tariffs/tax have done. This hurts not just us here in the US...it hurts the people making the oat cereal, the importer, and we the people. I won't buy that product, too expensive now. Who did this admin think this tariff thing was helping?
I've been following this issue for a couple of years now...started with soybeans. And then beef. Where will it end? Not to get 'political' but aren't we all human? Why don't we act like it? Sorry...maybe we are.
And now perhaps another war...does anyone sell to Iran? When I sold here I sold to everywhere. I even had a list and felt proud of it, especially when I sold to a new country. Great fun back then. I miss it.
Hi Chapeau...hi Hawaii!!!
roccotacodad54
·5 months agoEdit:
Well it looks as though I'm not allowed to respond...................