US Tariffs: $80-$200 Surcharge On All Packages Regardless of Price

[bedir than]

Countdown to Morrus instituting a "Pony Express" forum in 3, 2, 1....

Customs: Do you have anything to declare?
Me, hiding my hexcards: No

 

[NN]

I wouldn't think you need AI. Just a basic computer program. It's a very simple equation: charge = value * tariff. Even I can do that!

I guess spot checks are needed, which require manual intervention. But that applies to any shipment through customs.

Because

a) everyone would simply understate the value

b) The tariffs are intended to be punitive and discourage imports. Any “unfairness” or “ red tape” is a feature not a bug.

 

[sevenbastard]

Not enough D&D adventure start of with a hook about smuggling.

Which is a good one as it explains why a higher level party was hired, and gets them taking back roads through the wilderness or that out of the way weird cultish village.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Because

a) everyone would simply understate the value

b) The tariffs are intended to be punitive and discourage imports. Any “unfairness” or “ red tape” is a feature not a bug.

a) isn't special to the proposed scenario. It's absolute constant of all customs operations through time and history. It's been an issue in 1000 BC and will be an issue if there are customs in 40,000 AD.

You fight it via enforcement. That's how you did it in 350 AD, or 1950 AD or now. If you catch people doing it, they get in trouble, and people charged money or shipments seized or the like. It's a solved problem.

So that can be absolutely cancelled out of the equation at once.

It's entirely b). It's not intended to solve a problem, it's intended to create a problem. There are million ways you could get correct values on most shipments (or close enough), but that's not the goal.

 

[dbolack]

I wouldn't think you need AI. Just a basic computer program. It's a very simple equation: charge = value * tariff. Even I can do that!

I guess spot checks are needed, which require manual intervention. But that applies to any shipment through customs.

The last vaguely detailed article I read on this is it boiled down to the tariff systems being old, but reliable code that was not designed to change rates on a whim.

 

[NN]

to clarify

reason a) is why there was a de minimis
reason b) is why its abolished

 

[Epic Meepo]

It's been an issue in 1000 BC and will be an issue if there are customs in 40,000 AD.

"In the grim, dark future, there is only customs enforcement."

 

[Ruin Explorer]

"In the grim, dark future, there is only customs enforcement."

Honestly it's shockingly easy to picture the Empire of Man's customs enforcement, a very bored looking guy in a dirty uniform standing next to a parcel scanner the size of a semi-truck, with gothic spires like it was a cathedral, multiple tech-priests attending it, waiting for one of the tech-priests to babble something in Binharic which meant "you gotta open the package and look in it" or not.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

My selfish worry with the whole situation is that I backed Dolmenwood a long, long time ago. The campaign is well beyond it's planned dates (which in itself is not a big deal for me) but since then there's been a few updates about Tariffs affecting the price. The thing is that I already paid both the product and shipping and I'm nervously waiting to see if Necrotic Gnome will dump the surcharges on customers or not.

It sucks for everyone involved. But being from Canada, I'm often getting it by the currency conversion, shipping and duties. The price of a book can easily double. And with Dolmenwood being a pretty big Kickstarter (got a big pledge with plenty of accessories) I have no idea who's gonna end up paying for any surcharges or tariffs.

 

[Scribe]

"In the grim, dark future, there is only customs enforcement."

This was covered in a book!