Tariffs on Canadian Purchases

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
As I understand it, the Tarifs apply to all goods. However, the minimus rule of $800 is still in effect. So if the amount being imported, is under $800, it will be exempt.
BUT this will only be until they can put an adequate collection system in place.
So get them while you can.
 
I'm pretty sure your tariffs are going to be universal - so you'll have to pay directly on anything you import from elsewhere.

I.e. William Woodwrite won't pay, but when you import it, your government will charge you and collect. You pay your government for the tariff tax they're adding to your purchase when it enters the US.
 
Sorry Rick that isn't true. Your leader initiated tariffs. He broke the trade agreements he approved and signed off on in his last term between Mexico, Canada and the US. We are applying tariffs in response. Your leader is going to apply tariffs to all countries everywhere whether they have any in place or not. They will in turn respond in the same way. We don't want the tariffs and neither do any of the other countries the US trades with but that is what your government wants to do. The tariffs are going to hurt everyone in both our countries.
 
Curly said:
Sorry Rick that isn't true. Your leader initiated tariffs. He broke the trade agreements he approved and signed off on in his last term between Mexico, Canada and the US. We are applying tariffs in response. Your leader is going to apply tariffs to all countries everywhere whether they have any in place or not. They will in turn respond in the same way. We don't want the tariffs and neither do any of the other countries the US trades with but that is what your government wants to do. The tariffs are going to hurt everyone in both our countries.
Click to expand...
Curly is correct, that is definitely a more accurate interpretation of what has done by the powers that be in the USA
 
This might get me kicked off this website but so be it. Don't see any point in being involved with an organization that is afraid of free speech when it directly impacts what we do as pen turners and woodworkers. If those who support these policies are too afraid to confront the impact of these policies on ordinary Americans (and Canadians and Europeans and everyone else), then maybe that's a signal that you ought to rethink these policies: I don't see how this is "politics." This was a fair question about the direct impact of current events on what we do as pen turners and woodworkers. It deserved an answer. And it deserves to be debated on this forum as it does in any other public forum. We talk all the time about the impact of the CITES treaty on shipping Brazilian rosewood overseas. How is this any different?
 
Before I get kicked off, one more point: There are numerous members of this forum who have sold, on this forum, Trump themed pen blanks. How is that OK if politics aren't allowed on this website?

Just to be clear: I'm all for the free market. I'm all for free speech. I think it's critical to any functioning democracy. But I want to know how that is OK if the site doesn't get involved in "politics"? If we're going to have a ban on "political" speech, then let's apply it evenly, across the political spectrum. Let's not disfavor the speech that "we" dislike.
 
In my opinion, I don't think that a discussion about how your newly created tariffs are going to affect you, as American purchasers, is truly political. I think it's a discussion that lets you plan for how these tariffs will have real-world implications for you in your daily activities as pen-turners - and this discussion thread was about a real-world question on the application of the random out-of-the-blue tariffs.

It's also a fluid situation, as the USMCA free trade agreement is technically still in effect, so it's a new and constantly changing situation. By the normal rules of the established trade agreements, there shouldn't be any tariffs - and these new tariff announcements have been rather confusing. That being the case, knowing how the new moving goalposts will affect purchasers and pen-turners is probably going to be a moving target - so non-political direct responses to these questions is not a bad idea, in my mind.

If you disagree, I'm happy to have a conversation about that!

The point about why the IAP restricts discussion of politics is that this is a pen-turning forum. Politics are divisive - especially lately - and there's almost no chance that political discussions remain civil.

Regarding your point about Trump-themed pen blanks - we tend to prefer using a soft touch - so unless the thread gets overtly policy political, or people complain, I'd say that selling a pen blank that supports either of your political parties or laws like your second amendment isn't an a priori political discussion. Again, happy to have a conversation if you disagree - please send me a PM if you'd like to talk about it! In the end, it's up to Jeff, as it's his site!
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
In my opinion, I don't think that a discussion about how your newly created tariffs are going to affect you, as American purchasers, is truly political. I think it's a discussion that lets you plan for how these tariffs will have real-world implications for you in your daily activities as pen-turners - and this discussion thread was about a real-world question on the application of the random out-of-the-blue tariffs.

It's also a fluid situation, as the USMCA free trade agreement is technically still in effect, so it's a new and constantly changing situation. By the normal rules of the established trade agreements, there shouldn't be any tariffs - and these new tariff announcements have been rather confusing. That being the case, knowing how the new moving goalposts will affect purchasers and pen-turners is probably going to be a moving target - so non-political direct responses to these questions is not a bad idea, in my mind.

If you disagree, I'm happy to have a conversation about that!

The point about why the IAP restricts discussion of politics is that this is a pen-turning forum. Politics are divisive - especially lately - and there's almost no chance that political discussions remain civil.

Regarding your point about Trump-themed pen blanks - we tend to prefer using a soft touch - so unless the thread gets overtly policy political, or people complain, I'd say that selling a pen blank that supports either of your political parties or laws like your second amendment isn't an a priori political discussion. Again, happy to have a conversation if you disagree - please send me a PM if you'd like to talk about it! In the end, it's up to Jeff, as it's his site!
Click to expand...
Maxwell, I agree with you. I don't think a discussion about the impact of tariffs on us as penturners is political. I think it's squarely within the scope of what this forum is about and fair game for discussion here.

As for the pen blanks--I don't--and didn't--have a problem with people selling them no matter who they support or what message they convey. Indeed, there have been many themed pen blanks advertised here that I'm not buying and that I'm not turning--from Trump pen blanks to pen blanks glorifying Ohio State football or Michigan football (I'm a Notre Dame fan). I've never once complained about those blanks being sold here. I've got no problem with people selling them here or with people (if there were any) who wanted to sell Harris-Walz penblanks or pen blanks in support of any political candidate. To be honest, I wouldn't turn those either.

My point was simply that, if we're going to put political guardrails on what people do on this forum, they need to apply across the board and they need to be governed by clearly defined rules. I don't see how you can reconcile the content of this thread--which unquestionably bears on what we do as penturners as "political" and off limits while allowing people to sell Trump themed pen blanks.

Again, I've got no problem with any of this discussion or speech--pro-Trump, anti-Trump, pro-Democrat, anti-Democrat or whatever. I truly believe that free speech across the political spectrum in any public forum is a good thing. Too many of our countrymen--Americans and Canadians alike--have fought and bled and died so that we can have that right. The beaches of Normandy make that clear.

Where I think we've veered too far as an organization is where we allow some political speech but not others. That's a problem. It's a constitutional problem when the government regulates it. And it's a societal problem when private organizations that sponsor a public forum--whether it's penturners.org or Facebook or whatever--do it, no matter what the message that's being conveyed.

I agree with you that politics can be divisive. That's an unfortunate characteristic of the era that we live in. I have been a member of IAP for a long time. I have learned a lot--from people who support the current administration, from people who don't, and people in between. I have bought products from people who support the current administration. I have sold pen making materials to people who have supported the current administration. I am grateful for all of it--the business and the advice. And the fact that we might disagree on politics or the issues of the day has never once factored into my decision about who to buy from or who to sell to. That's the beauty of a pluralistic, democratic society. We can disagree about X, but still come together on Y.

All I am saying is that, if we are going to have a ban on "political" speech on this forum, let's enforce it across the spectrum with clearly defined rules or--my suggested approach--let's be open to all viewpoints and discussions--at least, as is unquestionably the case here, where it directly bears on what we do as woodworkers and penturners.

I'm sorry to be a gadfly on this. But free speech is important. People should feel free and be allowed to express their views on this to the extent that it directly bears on what we do as penturners and woodworkers.
 
I don't see your point, honestly. No politics is allowed, currently. I think the current discussion is non-political, but rather pragmatic.

We have members from all over the world, and through mutual respect, and mutual respect for Jeff, his forum, and his rules, we tend to avoid politics - so needing to create 'hard rules' that govern any potential permutation hasn't really been necessary.
 
Fair enough re "Jeff's forum, Jeff's rules." He can throw me out of here whenever he wants. I guess I just don't know what "Jeff's rules" are. "No political discussion." Ok, fair enough. What's political? Whatever Jeff says it is? Whatever happens to offend the majority of the people here? Whatever happens to offend one or two people who are willing to complain about it to him?

I have a really hard time seeing how selling pen blanks that openly celebrate one political party, one particular politician, or one particular policy view point are NOT "political"--under "Jeff's rules," or anyone's for that matter. Again, I've got no problem with people selling that stuff. But I do have a problem when that sort of thing is somehow permissible, but a discussion about a particular issue that bears directly on what we do is deemed to be too political for discussion. I really don't see how you can reconcile those pen blanks with the content of this threat, which Jeff has apparently deemed as too political for discussion here. Maybe Jeff can chime in and help me understand the difference and help me understand what's OK and what's not.

Again, I'm not trying to cause problems here. I've derived tremendous benefit from this forum. I've really enjoyed it. But if we're going to have guidelines for participation, then let's make clear what they are and let's enforce them across the board. If the guidelines are, "Jeff gets to decide," that's fine. That's his prerogative as the guy who owns this website. But let's be clear about that.
 
"Pragmatic" is the discussion on how I am going to be affected - cost wise. I too order from William Woodwrite. What is it going to cost me? Plain and simple.
"Politics" is the discussion on who is right or wrong or who started it or why. I.e. - My personal feeling on the issue intertwined with the cost so that I can bring politics into it. Leave the politics and feeling out. I know, I know - hard to do and each hair splitting gets less and less fair. There fore leave the feelings and politics portion out.
 
The older I get, the more I understand that I may not like what any president is doing.
However, no matter how loud I complain, he ain't gonna change for ME.
So, we will have to deal with the situation as well as we can. I am confident it will not
HELP our business, I am equally confident no one in Washington cares what happens to me.

We continue to welcome everyone and we will continue to obey the regulations.
What choice is there?
 
ed4copies said:
I am equally confident no one in Washington cares what happens to me.
Click to expand...

A sad but real truth. Too bad its been this way for so long... That said, I do think that Trump does care about America overall...since I first became aware of politics in the late 80s, I would say that Trump is the first president since Regan (first president I can personally remember) that really seems to care about his country and its people. Regardless of which side of the isle they were from, I can't say that about any other president in the intervening terms. Swamp creatures, all. Like the vast majority of DC...

I am currently hopeful that the tariff wars will ultimately do good, for everyone involved. I think that's what we need to hope for. I don't think its just warring for the sake of warring...I do believe there is a purpose with all the tariffs right now. IF everyone comes to the table and an amicable solution for everyone involved can be found, then I think it will be good, for us pen makers and everyone else. I'm just hoping.

FWIW, isn't there a minimum dollar limit that the tariffs apply to? If you purchase and import less than that dollar amount, wouldn't that mean you would be safe from any tariff? I think the goal was ultimately to effectively tax large imports of goods, not individual small item purchases and the like (which would directly impact individual Americans for little and generally meaningless things...vs. bulk buys of goods en masse.)
 
The political discussions I have seen on this forum usually don't start out as political discussions. This current thread is a text book example of that. Beck 3906 asked a legitimate questions that is relevant to any penturner who lives in the United States and buys supplies from Canada.

"Do tariffs apply if I buy something from William Woodwrite in Canada?"

The question offers no opinion as to the legitimacy of or need for the tariffs, no judgement about the government that initiated the tariffs, or no prediction about what future consequences the tariffs might have, questions about the cause of the Tariffs or if trade agreements were broken, but all of those topics were addressed in this thread, as well as whether or not the IAP is fair when it comes to defining political speech on the forum. None of those subjects gives the OP any information about whether or not tariffs will impact his purchase from William Woodwright.

Andrew is 100% correct when he points out that we owe Jeff a certain amount of respect and think about what it is we have written before hitting the Enter button. Just ask yourself if what you are about to post does anything to address the original comment or question. Keep your political opinions to yourself. If you have a complaint about the rules or policies of the IAP contact Jeff directly to express them.

Rant over.

Now, my answer to the original question is: It is my understanding that purchases of under $800 are considered "de minimus" and not subject to the tariffs. Of course, that can be changed at any time.
 
Last edited:
This thread has been reported a few times, so let me address a few points:

The Acceptable Use Policy says "Discussions of politics and religion are not allowed." That has been our policy for almost 20 years. We used to allow both topics, and deep in the archives out of public view there are numerous threads containing heated discussions with vicious personal attacks that serve not to understand and consider other people's viewpoints, but to divide us into groups that despise each other.

We even tried setting up an opt-in forum section dedicated to political and religious discussions, the idea being that it would give us a place to debate, but be out of the view of those who desired not to see it. That failed miserably. The hard feelings between people who were "debating" (or "at each others throats" in some cases) spilled over to the general forums. People would get all fired up in the back room discussion forum, then explode at each other over which CA was the best.

Regarding images of blanks with political and religious themes. The key word in the AUP is "discussions", so we have allowed blanks and pens with political and religious images to be advertised and posted.

The discussion above is right on the edge of what I'd consider general political discussions, but let's leave it alone for the moment. These are very practical issues for people who trade across borders and I think there is some value in the discussion.
 
Quite the discussion when I'm just trying to determine if tariffs apply to maybe a a 300 CDN dollar order. At an exchange rate of about 80% of the US dollar, a tariff, if applicable, could wipe out anything gained from the exchange rate.
 
WRT the original post- As for that de minimis $800 exemption, it looks like that part of the tariff order was suspended until the Dept of Commerce notifies the President that "adequate systems are in place to fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue". Then they might eliminate the exemption but who knows.
For now, it looks like you're still safe under $800.
 
jeff said:
This thread has been reported a few times, so let me address a few points:

The Acceptable Use Policy says "Discussions of politics and religion are not allowed." That has been our policy for almost 20 years. We used to allow both topics, and deep in the archives out of public view there are numerous threads containing heated discussions with vicious personal attacks that serve not to understand and consider other people's viewpoints, but to divide us into groups that despise each other.

We even tried setting up an opt-in forum section dedicated to political and religious discussions, the idea being that it would give us a place to debate, but be out of the view of those who desired not to see it. That failed miserably. The hard feelings between people who were "debating" (or "at each others throats" in some cases) spilled over to the general forums. People would get all fired up in the back room discussion forum, then explode at each other over which CA was the best.

Regarding images of blanks with political and religious themes. The key word in the AUP is "discussions", so we have allowed blanks and pens with political and religious images to be advertised and posted.

The discussion above is right on the edge of what I'd consider general political discussions, but let's leave it alone for the moment. These are very practical issues for people who trade across borders and I think there is some value in the discussion.
Click to expand...
Thank you Jeff! This is the most equal and unbiased decision by an Admin/Owner anywhere.
 
I've been trying to find some reliable information on exemptions for imports. So far, I've only been able to find exemptions when you are traveling, and return to the US. There are $200, $800 and $1600 exemptions depending on where you are returning from, and there are also often quantity limits that apply to these exemptions.

When it comes to items being shipped in from another country...I have been unable to find any specific information about whether there are exemptions. There is a list of 539 specific items, none of which seemed specific enough to explicitly cover woodworking/pen crafting materials. There are a lot of general categories that such stuff probably falls under, though...

In any case. I would do your research, maybe contact us customs or something and see if they can help, I wouldn't operate just on assumption here.
 
EricRN said:
This might get me kicked off this website but so be it. Don't see any point in being involved with an organization that is afraid of free speech when it directly impacts what we do as pen turners and woodworkers.
Click to expand...
I'm on pool forum that allows political discussions. The members take it to the line where they are banned or repeatedly warned. I do not want to know what side anyone is on.. I lose respect. I stopped posting or logging on for a while.
I'm all for free speech...outside of IAP. I appreciate no political conversations go on here. If and when it begins I'll be the first to permanently log out. I thank the administration for how IAP is managed. I learn. Made a few friends here. It's peaceful.
I was at an indoor range that had a sign ... "No political or religious targets". Was in a bar that had a sign "No Political or Religious" conversations please.

Edit... sorry for going off topic.
 
Last edited:
What started our great Nation was the fact that they did discuss politics and religion. In the past 50 years not talking about them has caused more problems.
 
PreacherJon said:
What started our great Nation was the fact that they did discuss politics and religion. In the past 50 years not talking about them has caused more problems.
Click to expand...
Discussing is appropriate. As for myself nobody I know agrees with each other so what is the point. Once again and my last on this. Not here. My shop and IAP are quiet zones. I like everyone here. I have no issues. I do not want to know anyones politics. Vote and go back to turning.
 
Couple other points that someone might want to research . Is the shipping cost to get the `good` to you added to the `goods` cost , and thus also subject to the tariff ? Are gifts subject to the tariffs ?
 
I have been waiting for a deepspace camera ordered before any tariff increase. A few days ago, the backorder price increased $50 due to tariff. My backordered price did not increase assuming that the order was placed prior to any tariff change.

Based upon the percentage increase, my assumption is that the tariff is based upon the wholesale, imported value and not the retail value. UPS 2nd day shipping from the US importer to my house is included in the camera price. It should be here tomorrow afternoon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom