Tariffs on Used Electronics Originally Made in China, Shipped from Canada
Summary: thinkpad_enjoyer1 is confused about recent discrepancies in duty fees estimated through the Zonos app for electronics shipped from Canada to the USA. Initially, their shipment of computer parts faced no duty, but now similar items show a 30% duty fee. ilikehockeyjerseys suggests that the Zonos app may not handle duty calculations perfectly, and msau4301 notes that previous tariff exemptions on electronics might be relevant. thinkpad_enjoyer1 corrects an earlier error regarding HTS codes and refers to policy updates indicating exemptions for certain electronics under HTSUS headings, but recent mock shipments also show inconsistencies. dinomitesales highlights a recent change in the Zonos app's outputs and the potential inconvenience this can cause for sellers. cottagewoman confirms similar issues, suggesting the Zonos app is updating its tariff data to be more accurate.
I'm extremely confused here... Just last week (on the 10th) I sent a package of misc. computer parts to a friend in the USA from Canada (not on eBay), putting the country of origin as China. Using the Zonos app, the package was duty free (under some sub-code of 8741 which I forget now). Now, when I estimate any other similar electronic package (laptops, pcs, etc) using the Zonos app, I'm getting 30% duty fees! This is using any of the same 8741 HTS sub-codes. I don't understand what exactly changed here?聽
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I will note that there are 2 rates of duties for all 8741 sub-codes, either duty-free (1) or 35% (2). I don't see any explanation as to which packages fall into which rates on their website. I also don't see any recent news of changes in the past week that would change my duty rates. I'm just very confused so I would appreciate any explanation here 馃檪
cottagewoman
路10 months agobyto253
路10 months ago30 day implementation versus the original 2 years so there are going to problems.聽 聽 It's like a new shirt, looks good in the package but when you take it out it is full of creases and pins.聽
dinomitesales
路10 months agoYes, something changed in the last couple days.
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Previous mock shipments in the Zonos app for a "computer monitor" HTS code 8528.52.0000 were showing zero duties just two days ago. The same mock shipment done today shows IEEPA tariffs owing.
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Either it's an error by Zonos, introduced in a new update, or it was wrong a few days ago and has since been corrected. No way to know - if you contact Zonos they'll just say something along the lines of "we are not responsible for the accuracy of the information provided" and "information changes daily".
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Things like this are especially frustrating if you set up an eBay listing based on information from Zonos, only to see that when it eventually sells the information has changed and now you're out a bunch of money. Ugh.聽
thinkpad_enjoyer1
OP10 months agoThere's this article here聽https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20xn626y81o聽from April saying that smartphones and computers are exempt. This seems backed up by the following update from here:聽https://www.tradecomplianceresourcehub.com/2025/09/16/trump-2-0-tariff-tracker/聽
"Apr. 11, 2025: President Trump issued a presidential memorandum to expand the reciprocal tariff exceptions to include the following HTSUS headings and subheadings: 聽8471, 8473.30, 8486, 8517.13.00, 8517.62.00, 8523.51.00, 8524, 8528.52.00, 8541.10.00, 8541.21.00, 8541.29.00, 8541.30.00, 8541.49.10, 8541.49.70, 8541.49.80, 8541.49.95, 8541.51.00, 8541.59.00, 8541.90.00, and 8542. CBP will issue refunds for any tariffs collected on imports classified under these headings or subheadings since April 5."
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I should note that I mistakenly entered 8741 instead of 8471 on my original post.
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I don't see any other updates to the HTSUS heading (and subheadings following under) 8471 so I'm assuming this exemption is still in effect. I could be wrong though.
da6170
路10 months agoI did a mock shipment with DHL Express and they charged a small duty fee for a smartphone made in China.
ilikehockeyjerseys
路10 months agoIn the zonos app, it appears that you can now use the add item manually feature to put in your choice of HTS code. I think this might be a recent update.
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If that still results in duties being charged, the answer would be that Zonos doesn't seem to get everything 100 percent correct. For example, when it was first rolled out vinyl records weren't duty free like they were supposed to be.
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I would be surprised to find out that used electronics made in China would qualify for any duty free status. Unless you know the exact reason why they qualified for that, I would suspect the Zonos app made an error and you accidentally misdeclared the item as a result. Or didn't pay enough duties.
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msau4301
路10 months agoI did read that Trump made smartphones and computers exempt from tariffs. He'd be hard-pressed finding US firms to fill those massive shoes.聽
Not sure why one time went through without charges and now is showing charges though. I haven't been brave enough to navigate through all this mess myself.