Trump executive order slows 4K/Blu-ray orders from overseas retailers

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4K Ultra HD purchases I made from Europe and Australia, which are mostly not available from U.S. studios.

(1) “The Courier” (2020) from Italy, (2) “The Elephant Man” (1980) from the U.K.,

(3) “Retribution” (2023) from Germany, (4) “The Driver” (1978) from the U.K.

(5) “Coda” (2021) from Italy, (6) “The Fall” (2006) from Australia, (7) “21 Bridges” (2019) from Germany, (8) “The Count of Monte-Cristo” (2024) from Germany.

(9) “The Frighteners” (1996) from Germany, (10) “Killers of the Flower Moon” (2023) from Italy, (11) “High Noon: The Masters of Cinema” (1952) from the U.K., (12) “U-571” (2000) from Italy.

(13) “The Straight Story” (1999) from Germany, (14) Last Breath (2024) from the U.K., (15) “The River Runs Through It” (1992) from Germany, (16) “Arthur the King” (2024) from Germany.

FOR OVER 15 years, I’ve purchased physical media, Blu-rays, 4K discs, and vinyl records from Europe and Australia.

I was shocked to find I was hit with the new U.S. customs roadblock, over the Labor Day weekend, when I tried to order several 4K discs from Germany and the U.K. It was a product of the Trump Executive Order to “Suspend Duty-free purchase” of under $800, which went into effect on August 29.

German-based DHL and Deutsche Post are no longer transporting parcels and postal items to the U.S. until the new restrictions are worked out. “Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future,” DHL says in a recent press release.

I was trying to purchase “The Legend of Ochi” 4K Ultra HD from JPC.de, based in Germany. Their website now says it no longer accepts orders to the U.S. The online site advised in an email, “Since August 25th, we have been unable to send any deliveries to the USA – we would receive them all back.” JPC relies on DHL for its shipments. They hope to have the shipping issue resolved in a couple of weeks.

FYI: Parcels and packages for individuals with a value under $100, “declared as a gift,” are not affected by the Trump Executive Order. Orders from the EU and Germany expect the customs rate to be 15 percent of the goods’ value.

Next, I tried to place an order from Amazon UK for the 4K non-Steelbook version of the Pixar/Disney “Elio.” In Amazon’s checkout, they’ve added new “Import Charges” to cover the U.S. customs duties. Two 4K copies would be $60.83 USD, with the “Import Charges” at $11.01, which is 18 percent.

Add in Amazon’s $13.18 shipping cost, the total with exchange fees became $87.04 These increased fees are causing me and others to reconsider purchasing 4K discs straight from Europe.

A possible order from Australia’s ViaVision Entertainment, with two Imprint 4K disc collections, costs $98.12 USD, plus $9.81 USD Tariff fee (10 percent) and $29.45 USD shipping. 

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On Thursday, Umbrella Entertainment, based in Australia, which produces 4K and Blu-ray discs, sent an email to its U.S. customers about the new tariffs.

To our fans in the United States, 

You could have heard that Australia encountered issues shipping Stateside due to tariffs, but we have a solution. 

The standard shipping option is still available but we do estimate it will take until September 20 for these orders to resume shipping and will take up to 20 days to arrive. 

We now have two DHL options for faster shipping at added cost. Both options will dispatch within 2 business days with DHL E-commerce taking up to 10 days to arrive and DHL Express taking up to 5 days to arrive. 

All of these options will also include duties to ensure we do not pass any additional tariff charges onto you. We'll continue to monitor updates to international shipping policies and will keep you informed if circumstances change in the future.

However, we endeavour to not allow these changes to impact our loyal fans. If you would like to amend your shipping on a recent order, please reply to this email and we will assist with the alteration. Thank you all for your continued support from across the world. We appreciate your patience while we worked this one out.

Thank you,

Umbrella Team

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We reached out to a couple of U.S. online stores that focus on selling 4K and Blu-ray discs produced overseas, to get a comment on how the new tariffs would affect their business and customers.  

“Those recent tariffs are not business-related; those are consumer-related tariffs that affect those who buy from retailers overseas.

Retailers buy from distributors to get wholesale pricing and wholesale business, and businesses like mine have accounts with our Carriers to conduct business with one another. Import fees are collected through a U.S. Government business ID that carriers have on file. I pay UPS monthly for all Import fees, and those fees have not changed for several months, and my assigned UPS Import broker has nothing new on the horizon.”

— Kyle Findley, owner of Blu Dealer LLC (Atomicmoviestore.com), based in Lawrence, Kansas.

Still, one thing is sure: physical media discs purchased straight from Europe, Asia, and Australia are going to cost more. Will this affect your collection? Let us know.

— Bill Kelley III, High-Def Watch producer