TARIFF NIGHTMARE: UPS Hits 200% Increase!

UPS delivery truck driver at traffic light

UPS is billing customers hundreds of dollars in tariffs meant for Russian aluminum on packages containing everything from Canadian maple syrup to clothing, leaving importers trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare with no one willing to help.

Story Snapshot

UPS is incorrectly applying a 200% Russian aluminum tariff to packages that contain no aluminum and don’t originate from Russia
Customers report bills exceeding the value of their shipments, with some charges reaching hundreds of dollars on inexpensive items
The shipping giant’s customer service system has effectively collapsed, leaving businesses and individuals unable to contest the erroneous charges
The problem escalated after August 2025 changes to U.S. customs rules eliminated duty-free treatment for shipments under $800
Small businesses are switching carriers and destroying inventory rather than paying tariffs that dwarf their profit margins

When Your Syrup Gets Sanctioned

A business owner orders maple syrup from Canada. UPS delivers a tariff bill of $684.50 for Russian aluminum duties. The syrup contains no aluminum. It didn’t pass through Russia. The tariff rate applied is 200 percent, originally designed to punish Moscow for geopolitical aggression. Welcome to the new reality of international shipping, where automation meets incompetence and customers foot the bill for someone else’s systems failure.

This isn’t an isolated glitch. Across the country, UPS customers are opening invoices that make no sense. Clothing shipments from Asia hit with aluminum tariffs. Electronics from Europe classified as Russian imports. The common thread is staggering overcharges applied through what appears to be catastrophically flawed automated classification systems, compounded by a customer service infrastructure that has essentially stopped functioning.

The Perfect Storm of Policy and Processing

The chaos traces back to two converging developments. First, the U.S. government imposed a punishing 200 percent tariff on Russian aluminum and its derivatives in 2023 as part of economic sanctions. Second, in August 2025, customs authorities reversed the de minimis rule that had allowed imports under $800 to enter duty-free. Suddenly, tens of thousands of small shipments that previously sailed through customs now required formal declarations and tariff assessments.

UPS’s systems were supposed to handle this transition smoothly. They didn’t. Instead, the company’s automated classification software began tagging shipments with wildly inappropriate tariff codes. The Russian aluminum designation, meant for a narrow category of sanctioned materials, started appearing on customer invoices with alarming frequency. What should have been a $20 customs charge became a $500 demand letter, with the full weight of federal trade policy backing it up.

UPS Is Destroying Packages Stuck in Trump's Tariff Chaos https://t.co/pRZtFkSPK0

— Paul J. Adam (@pauljadam) October 10, 2025

The Customer Service Black Hole

Getting UPS to acknowledge the problem, let alone fix it, has proven nearly impossible. Customers report spending hours on hold, only to reach representatives who have no authority to adjust charges or investigate misclassifications. Email inquiries disappear into digital voids. Online dispute forms generate automated responses that provide no actual resolution. Some customers have simply paid the inflated bills because their businesses couldn’t afford the delays associated with fighting the charges.

The power imbalance is stark. UPS functions as gatekeeper between customers and customs authorities, wielding enormous control over how tariffs get assessed and communicated. When the company’s systems fail, customers have few options. They can pay charges they don’t owe, abandon their shipments, or wage exhausting battles against a bureaucracy designed to discourage challenges. Many small businesses are choosing a fourth option—switching to FedEx or USPS and writing off UPS entirely.

What This Means for American Commerce

The immediate damage is financial and operational. Small importers are losing money on tariffs that exceed their profit margins. Supply chains are disrupted as packages sit in customs limbo or get returned to sender. Businesses that rely on timely international deliveries are scrambling to find alternative shipping methods. The cumulative effect is a tax on cross-border commerce that hits smaller players hardest, since they lack the resources to absorb unexpected costs or negotiate special arrangements with carriers.

The long-term implications cut deeper. This debacle exposes fundamental vulnerabilities in how global logistics companies handle regulatory compliance. As trade policies grow more complex and enforcement more automated, the risk of systemic failures multiplies. UPS’s troubles today could become the industry standard tomorrow if carriers don’t invest in better systems and actual human oversight. The broader question is whether American trade policy, implemented through private sector intermediaries, can function fairly when those intermediaries prioritize efficiency over accuracy and automation over accountability.