Import Duties on Mailed Sports Merchandise Impact U.S. Supporters, Delivery Permitting
In an unexpected turn of events, sports fans in the United States are facing unexpected bills due to the new tariffs implemented by former President Donald Trump.
Jenna Tonelli, a writer for SI.com, recently encountered a check for a seventy-five dollar tariff from the UPS delivery person for an Inter gear order from Italy. This is just one example of the rising costs for sports merchandise due to the UPS tracking and delivery.
Arsenal has decided to pass on these costs to consumers, increasing the price of an Arsenal Adidas NTS shirt from $110 to $120. Other clubs, like Inter Milan, warn that tariffs may be due on receipt, while others, such as O'Neills, do not acknowledge a potential tariff bill at all.
The de minimis exemption, which previously exempted packages of a declared value under $800 from taxes, was ended by the Trump administration. This change has affected a significant number of packages, with the number of de minimis packages into the U.S. hitting 1.36 billion in 2024, compared to 134 million a decade ago.
The update to the story corrects the spelling of the exemption the Trump administration ended. The de minimis exemption had been in place since 1938 and was often considered a money loser for collecting duties on small value packages.
The tariffs have also caused mail delivery into the U.S. to drop 81% the week after Trump eliminated the exemption at the end of August. Some countries have suspended mail delivery to the U.S. due to uncertainty over how to handle the UPS and FedEx delivery, although no specific countries have been identified in the available search results.
Not all organizations have stopped shipping to the U.S., but some have adjusted their checkout processes to simplify the process for fans. Paris Saint-Germain, for example, collects duties at checkout, making a $125 PSG jersey cost $187 after tariffs and shipping.
The story does not mention any clubs absorbing the tariffs themselves, nor any organizations stopping shipping to the U.S. However, some clubs, like the Australian Football League and Wolverhampton Wanderers of the Premier League, have stopped shipping to the U.S. following the abolition of the de minimis exemption by the Trump administration in summer 2021.
A Reddit user reported paying 96% of the product's value due to tariffs on a jersey from Versaille FC. Chinese fast fashion brand Shien and online retailer Temu have used the de minimis exemption excessively, sending thousands of small packages to get under the tax floor.
These taxes are causing unexpected bills for sports fans, with the cost of a Manchester United 2025-26 home jersey from the club's store rising from a base price of $103.50 after a club promotion, to a total cost of $163 with $10 for shipping and $48.21 for tariffs.
In conclusion, the new tariffs implemented by Donald Trump are causing unexpected costs for sports fans in the U.S., with clubs passing on these costs to consumers and some organizations stopping shipping to the U.S. altogether.
