New US Tariffs Are Here: Will Your Business Survive? | Upside #97

Strategy
Written By Ali Shariat

US Tariffs, Postal Duty Changes & Rising Freight Costs: What Sellers Need to Know

A cluster of cost increases landed on sellers in the same week: new US tariffs, a full postal duty regime for UK-to-US shipments, and freight costs climbing as oil pushes past $100 a barrel. None of it is catastrophic on its own, but together it's a clear signal to plan pricing and Q4 stock ahead of time rather than react later.

In this episode: Leon and Al run through the week's news for Amazon and e-commerce sellers, from new tariffs to Amazon's AI-image labelling rule.

Key takeaways

  • New US forced-labor tariffs took effect (10% for the UK, 12.5% for countries including China), replacing the expired temporary global 10% tariff. Goods already in transit were exempt until 28 July.

  • The US postal duty regime changed the same day: the flat 10% postal duty ended, full duty now applies to UK-to-US postal shipments, and from 24 October a 10-digit HTS code plus customs broker will be required for many shipments. Merchant-fulfilled US orders just got materially more expensive and complex.

  • Amazon now requires sellers to label AI-generated people in listing images and video, prompted by a New York disclosure law. Reviewing creative for compliance is worth doing now rather than waiting to be flagged.

  • Separately (not tariff-related, but landing the same week): Amazon is enforcing a 75-character title limit across all marketplaces from 27 July, and will auto-edit titles that don't comply.

  • Brent crude trading above $100 a barrel after Red Sea tanker attacks is pushing freight costs up, on top of Amazon's existing fuel and logistics surcharge (3.5% in the US, around 1.5% in the UK and EU).

  • The practical response: revisit cost prices and retail pricing now, and pre-book Q4 stock and freight early since costs are trending in one direction.

Timestamps

00:00 — Cold open: this week's top stories
01:03 — New US tariffs take effect
04:33 — US postal duty regime changes for UK-to-US shipments
09:50 — Amazon's new AI-generated people labelling rule
13:09 — Bonus news: Amazon's 75-character title limit
13:45 — Red Sea escalation and rising freight costs
19:10 — What sellers should actually do about rising costs

The detail

New tariffs and the postal duty shift
New US forced-labor tariffs took effect at 4am GMT on 24 July, replacing an expired temporary global tariff, with a 10% rate for the UK and 12.5% for countries including China. Goods already in transit stayed exempt until 28 July. The same day, the flat 10% US postal duty ended and full duty now applies to UK-to-US postal shipments, with a 10-digit HTS code and customs broker becoming mandatory for many shipments from 24 October. Together, this makes merchant-fulfilled orders into the US noticeably more expensive and more complex to process than before.

Amazon's AI-image labelling rule
Amazon now requires sellers to label AI-generated people appearing in listing images or video, following a New York disclosure law. The comparison drawn on the episode is to food packaging's "serving suggestion" labelling, it's about making clear to shoppers what they're looking at, not banning AI imagery outright. Worth a quick compliance pass across active listings now rather than waiting to find out how Amazon enforces it.

Rising freight and fuel costs
Brent crude trading above $100 a barrel, following attacks on Saudi Arabian tankers, is adding pressure to freight costs on top of Amazon's existing fuel and logistics surcharge. Reduced shipping capacity through the Panama Canal is compounding it further. The practical takeaway: if you're planning Q4 stock, start now, since costs are expected to keep trending upward rather than settle.

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