Denver grandpa lost in tariff confusion after buying $67 hubcap online — $46.38 added from tariffs. What are his rights?

Paul Polak conscionable wanted to bash thing bully for his granddaughter. Instead, the Loveland, Colorado, nonmigratory got tangled successful America's progressively chaotic tariff strategy — and a measure that near him wondering whether it's adjacent worthy buying thing from overseas anymore.

Polak's granddaughter was astir to inherit her dad's 22-year-old Audi presumption wagon, and 1 of the hubcaps was missing. So helium went online, recovered a replacement from a seller successful the United Kingdom and placed an order. The hubcap outgo $67.

Then came the missive from FedEx.

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When the hubcap arrived successful the U.S., Customs and Border Protection assessed a drawstring of import duties. FedEx, which had covered the tariffs upfront arsenic the shipment's importer of record, sent Polak a measure seeking reimbursement — positive a $4.50 disbursement interest for handling the customs paperwork. All told, Polak owed $41.88 successful tariffs and $4.50 successful fees connected a $67 acquisition — an effectual taxation complaint of astir 69%, arsenic archetypal reported by 9NEWS investigative newsman Steve Staeger (1).

The work invoice broke the charges into 4 abstracted tariff lines: a 2.5% modular duty, a 10% reciprocal tariff tied to the UK, a 25% tariff for a rider conveyance portion and different 25% tariff for a medium- oregon heavy-duty conveyance part.

Keith Maskus, a retired economics prof and erstwhile main economist for the U.S. State Department, reviewed the invoice and told Staeger that the tariffs appeared to person been improperly stacked — each 1 levied against the afloat worth of the hubcap alternatively than applied correctly.

Under existent commercialized rules, car parts imported from the UK are taxable to a 25% Section 232 tariff nether the Trade Expansion Act — the national-security proviso President Trump utilized to enforce wide duties connected vehicles and conveyance parts starting successful outpouring 2025 (2).

While the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal, announced successful May 2025 and implemented successful precocious June, reduced that complaint to 10% for qualifying UK-origin parts, that little complaint lone applies to parts destined for UK-origin vehicles — not a German-made Audi.