AirGradient and the U.S. Tariff Changes

You’ve probably been seeing the news about tariffs and international trade, and maybe you’re wondering: “How does all this affect my AirGradient order, especially if I’m in the US?”. First, I want to acknowledge that this creates uncertainty. It’s not ideal for you, us, or our mission to get more accurate air quality monitoring out into the world. But here’s the important part: we will manage this. We’ve tackled challenges before, and we’ll navigate this one, too, staying focused on delivering great products and fulfilling our mission. We promise to remain open and transparent throughout and aim to clarify this complex situation as much as possible.

How Things Work Right Now: Shipping from Thailand

Let’s break down the current situation. It’s actually quite straightforward.

Our Manufacturing Base is Thailand

AirGradient manufactures and ships all its products directly from our facility in Thailand. We aren’t shipping from China, which has been the main focus of many recent tariff discussions. This location is important for understanding the rules that apply to your orders today.

Understanding DDU Shipping

We use a shipping term called DDU, which stands for Delivered Duty Unpaid. What does this mean practically?

This means you are responsible for any potential customs duties, taxes, or import fees your country might charge when the package arrives.

We state this clearly in our online shop during checkout because we believe in being upfront and avoiding surprises. This also applies to all other countries (e.g. in the EU).

The Current US $800 “De Minimis” Rule

Here’s some good news for most of our US customers at this moment. The US has a rule known as the “de minimis” threshold.

This rule currently allows shipments valued below USD $800 to enter the country without duties or import taxes for most goods from most countries. Importantly, this still applies to shipments from Thailand. While there’s been specific action targeting this rule for shipments from China, those changes do not currently affect our shipments.

So, if your AirGradient order total (the value of the goods themselves) is under $800, you should not face US customs duties or tariffs upon arrival. This applies to the vast majority of individual orders we ship to the US.

What if my order is over $800? If your order value is above this amount, it could be subject to standard US customs duties. If so, the shipping carrier (like USPS, DHL, or FedEx) would likely contact you to arrange payment before delivery.

Potential Changes

While the $800 threshold helps now, we need to be prepared for the future. Trade policies can change. Based on current discussions and trends, we expect the $800 de minimis rule might eventually be removed or significantly lowered for shipments from many countries, potentially including Thailand. It’s a topic being discussed more often, and we need to plan for that possibility.

If that happens, what’s the impact? All shipments to the US, no matter the value, could then be subject to import duties. For our type of products, we anticipate the rate would likely be around 10%.

Setting up US Warehouse

Knowing this might be coming, we’re actively working on setting up a dedicated warehouse within the United States and have already started shipping to that warehouse.

Once it’s running, US customer orders could ship directly from this US warehouse. This means no more customs clearance processes or potential duty bills for you upon delivery. It would feel just like ordering domestically. Shipping times will then also be significantly faster and more predictable.

Setting up and maintaining a US warehouse involves costs. When we import products in bulk to stock that warehouse, we will need to pay the applicable import duties (that potential ~10% we discussed). We also need to pay additional shipping costs to the warehouse.

We work hard to offer AirGradient products at very competitive prices. We focus on our mission and efficiency, not large markups. Because of this, we likely cannot absorb these significant new tariff costs entirely by ourselves without impacting our operations and development.

So at some point, we will likely need to implement a modest price increase for our products. We don’t take this lightly, but it’s necessary to cover the costs under these changing regulations. We believe this transparency is crucial. You’ll receive the same great product and support our mission, but the price will fairly reflect the costs involved.

Key Points to Remember

Let’s summarize the key takeaways:

1. We Ship from Thailand: Current US tariff actions focused on China don’t directly impact our shipments today.
2. DDU Shipping: You are the importer; potential duties are your responsibility (as stated in our purchase page), but shipments below $800 are currently exempted (see next point).
3. $800 US De Minimis Still Active: For now, orders under $800 to the US generally have no duties.
4. Future Change Possible: We anticipate the de minimis rule might end, potentially adding ~10% duty to all direct US imports from Thailand later on.
5. US Warehouse is Coming: Our solution involves setting up a US base for simpler, faster domestic shipping (no duties for you at delivery).
6. Potential Price Impact: The additional costs of the tariffs and setting up a US warehouse might lead to a modest price increase in future.