NYC consumers face unexpected tariffs on overseas purchases: 'A huge shock'

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- An unwelcome surprise for some U.S. consumers ordering clothes and goods from overseas.

They're being hit with small package tariffs that need to be paid when the item is delivered to their door.

Cameron Watson tells PIX11 News that a $150 track suit jacket and a shirt from a retailer in Spain cost him a total of $224.

He paid $29 in shipping to UPS, but the UPS driver told him he needed to pay another $55 - by check - in order to get the package.

Watson said, "I don't even have a checkbook anymore", so he checked the UPS app. It showed he could avoid a $12 UPS processing surcharge and pay $44 "for tariffs and fees". Watson said it was all "a huge shock to me, I didn't realize it happened, I would have thought I had paid that up front when I made the transact