There are going to be issues for US-based individuals ordering a 3D printer from overseas.
These are trying times for sure, as tariffs are imposed (and removed) seemingly daily. It must be incredibly confusing for manufacturers, who have no consistent scenario to work with.
But this also extends to buyers. Depending on the source country, individuals in the US buying 3D printers will likely be paying some level of tariffs. That will be seen in raised prices of the equipment.
The amount of tariff on a device isn’t simply slapped onto the device itself; it’s actually quite a bit more confusing. It all depends on where the components were sourced for the device, where it was assembled, and other factors. However, prices will definitely rise for US buyers.
This is pretty well understood by the desktop 3D print community at this point, but there’s another issue lurking that is less well known.
US Customs regulations recently changed the limits for formal declarations, lowering the amount from US$2,500 to only US$800. This meant a lot more work for shipping companies that now have to complete extra paperwork. I guess it isn’t “extra” anymore.
This extra workload has caused some shipping companies to take drastic action. One shipper popular with 3D printer manufacturers is DHL, who recently announced changes to their policies as a result of the new regulations. They said:
“Effective Monday, April 21st, 2025, and until further notice, we will temporarily suspend the collection and shipping of business-to-consumer (B2C) shipments to private individuals in the United States where the declared customs value exceeds USD 800.
Shipments – both B2B & B2C – with a declarable customs value below USD 800 are not affected by the suspension.”
In other words, they don’t have the capacity to handle the new paperwork and are simply shutting off a segment of their market. That is, until they can figure out how to handle the added workload.
This means that if a 3D printer manufacturer was shipping a single 3D printer to a US customer via DHL (and many do), they will have to choose a different carrier. I’m sure the manufacturers know all about this, but this means there will be extra work for those other shippers, likely causing further delays.
Some 3D printer buyers are adjusting their plans. For example, instead of buying a completely new machine, perhaps they will buy an upgrade instead — one that happens to fall under the US$800 limit.
This is certainly wreaking havoc for the shippers and manufacturers, who now have to rapidly react to continue the flow of equipment to the US.
I’m sure they can all figure this out by reconfiguring their operations in different ways.
But then, what happens when the rules change again two weeks later? Argh.
Via DHL
