UPS launching online tool to show tariff costs to customers
Amid continued threats of international tariffs by President Trump, the United Parcel Service (UPS) is launching an online tool that allows customers to see the added cost of those tariffs.
UPS Global Checkout guarantees upfront the amount online shoppers will pay in duties, fees and taxes, according to a statement from UPS.
“Until now, international purchases often arrived with an unpleasant surprise — an additional bill for unpaid import costs. UPS Global Checkout solves that problem,” the statement read in part.
"With UPS Global Checkout, we’re making international shopping around the world as easy as buying in-store," Kate Gutmann, EVP and president of International, Healthcare and Supply Chain Solutions at UPS, said. "Online shoppers can now enjoy full transparency and peace of mind with no surprises, knowing what they pay at checkout is the total cost for a cross-border purchase. This, combined with our total UPS premium delivery experience, benefits our customers — the retailers — by helping to drive additional sales."
"Given trade shifts around the world, expanding growth opportunities in new markets can now be seamless," she added.
Tariffs are typically charged as a percentage of the price a buyer pays a foreign seller. In the United States, tariffs are collected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at 328 ports of entry across the country.
U.S. tariff rates vary: They are generally 2.5 percent on passenger cars, for instance, and 6 percent on golf shoes. The taxes can be lower for countries with which the U.S. has trade agreements.
Before the U.S. began imposing 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico earlier this month, most goods moved between the North American countries were tariff-free because of the administration's U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.