If you've been on social media at all this last week I'm sure you, like me, have seen posts from small businesses & designers talking about how they're dealing with the new USA tariffs and, although I've already written about this, I wanted to write an updated post. I'll try to explain it as simply as I can, and using the best of my knowledge. Sadly nothing is yet clear and, if multi-million £/$ companies such a Royal Mail & Etsy don't know what's going on, or how to handle it, then what hope have ! What is clear is that as of 29th August 2025 the USA is removing the 'de minus exemption' which was the $800 threshold below which tariffs on shipments over outside the USA didn't apply. So, from that date, tariffs will be applicable on ALL items entering the USA based on the country of manufacture, not where it is sent from. Therefore if I, in England, send you a printed set of instructions there's a tariff of 10%, but if I send you crystals from Austria there is a tariff due of 15% and then if I send my neck & bangle wires, which are made in China, the tariff is 30% (as of today, this is liable to change/rise). People all around the world are used to paying tariffs/ import duties/ VAT etc when shopping outside their country, however this is usually done by the buyer in their own country before the items are delivered. But, very unusually, the USA has said they want items to land in the USA with the tariffs paid and because of this I will have to pay them in advance before I send anything so of course my prices will have to rise for USA customers to cover that extra cost (plus any handling fees etc I have to pay because as yet it is not clear what the fees for this will be). BUT- and it's a big but - as of yet there is no clear mechanism for me to report to anyone that I have paid the tariffs in advance (nor any clear guidance as to where on earth I send the money!) and USPS (who take over my Royal Mail shipments when they hit the USA) have said that if it isn't clear that the correct tariffs have been paid they will charge the recipient a minimum of $80 which rises to $200 depending on where the item concerned is manufactured. So the ~$27 I currently charge for a neck & bangle wire set could create USPS sending you a bill for $800, and no-one wants that to happen. Therefore, because of all that, and because it isn't clear as to whether the 29th August date means items have to be shipped by then or received into the USA by then, I will be temporarily stopping shipping any physical items to the USA this coming Monday (18th August 2025) to try to ensure none of my customers are hit with unexpected large costs. I am hopeful that this will be sorted out and a way forward found by the shipping companies & governments so that I can resume shipping to the USA asap. Royal Mail have said they expect to have something in place in time but there is no guarantee of that, and also no guarantee that the method will be accepted by the USPS or the USA government, but please be assured that as soon as I can resume shipping I will… I never want to deprive any of you of sparkle! Much love to all beaders all around the world and a huge thank you to all of you who support me and my work by shopping with me in any form