Tariffs Turn Online Shopping Into a Headache

People in the US are facing new problems when they buy things from other countries. This is because of changes in rules about taxes on imports, called tariffs. These changes are making it harder and more expensive to get packages from abroad. For example, someone in Alabama wanted to buy wine from Italy. But the delivery company, UPS, said they couldn't send it. They asked for more information and then said the wine couldn't be delivered. Later, the person got a bill for $13 from UPS for "abandoning" the package. This is just one story of many people having trouble with their online orders. Another person, who sells clothes, ordered some from the UK. She expected to pay some extra taxes, but she was surprised when UPS sent her a bill for $769. That's a lot more than she thought she would pay. She thinks UPS might have made a mistake with the taxes. This is all happening because the US government changed the rules about small shipments. Before, things worth less than $800 didn't have extra taxes. Now, almost everything has to pay these taxes. This is making it harder for people to know what they will have to pay when they order something from another country. Some people are even getting bills for the wrong taxes. For example, some have been charged the high tax rate for Russian aluminum, even though their packages didn't have any metal from Russia. This is causing a lot of confusion and frustration. Businesses are also having problems. A man who sells car parts from Canada said that UPS has lost or returned some of his packages. He's worried about how bad it will get during the holiday season, when more people are shopping online. Economists say that these taxes will make things more expensive and might make it harder for people to find jobs. The head of the Federal Reserve has even said that these taxes are one reason why the central bank hasn't cut interest rates. For now, people like George Hayes, who buys things from Japan, are thinking about cutting back on their orders. He said that before these changes, people didn't realize how good they had it. Now, he has to think about where things are made and what taxes he will have to pay. It's making online shopping a lot more complicated.