When the Trade War Shows Up at Your Door

How a simple hair gel order — and a surprise $23 customs bill — reveals the hidden cost of Trump-era tariff changes on everyday online shoppers.

Although we’ve all heard a lot about tariffs this year, it’s hard to feel what they mean in day-to-day life until you crash into them yourself at checkout. You assume tariffs are something that happens far away, between governments and trade lawyers, not between you and your shampoo.

That’s what happened yesterday when Trisha Posner tried to restock a hair gel she loves from a small Australian company. She filled her cart, applied a Cyber Monday discount, and headed to checkout expecting a deal. Instead, the site suddenly told her it could not ship to her U.S. address.