March 16, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: I own House Mountain Yarn Co. in downtown Lexington. It is a small business that sells handmade items as well as materials for crafters. It is also a community gathering spot for young and old alike.
Last month, I received a shipment of goods from a British company. I have been ordering their popular items regularly for about a year. I paid invoice promptly. A week later, I received an invoice from UPS for tariff and brokerage fees that totaled more than the entire value of my shipment.
I didn’t believe this could be correct so I contacted the vendor and UPS and began disputing the charges. In the end, all agreed that the charges were indeed correct because my shipment went through during one of the windows when an Executive Order was in place.
To quote UPS, “The 10%, 25% and 15% are all correct. The tariff implementations for 244-2/7 were due to President Trump on HK/CN Country of origin shipments.”
Little did I know that the artwork on the bags was done in the UK but the bags themselves were made in China.
As a small business, this was a big blow. I love what I do and we have built a strong community of crafters in the area. It would be a shame if it became economically unviable. I hope I am able to weather the market volatility caused by the whims of a person who has no understanding of basic economics and has run many businesses into bankruptcy himself. ELLIE BOYLAN Lexington
