body: I wanted to buy some rare earth oxides and noticed the unit price is 6 or more times more expensive in the USA than if bought from China, even with international shipping included. Since China is the only country that mass produces these substance, all of the American sellers must source it from there too, which made me curious as to why it is so expensive here. Of course it could just be because the stateside sellers hike up the price for some nice profit margins, but my dad suggested it could be because of a tariff/duty imposed when bought from China.
  
  
  It's hard and confusing for me to find useful information about tariffs/duties online. Would there would be any kind of fee or duty on the oxides if I bought them from a Chinese seller on Alibaba? If so, at what value of my purchase would the duty be enforced and how much extra would I be charged? If it makes any difference, I talked to a seller on Alibaba and the shipping is FOB (free on board).
  
  
  Thanks for the help, feel free to comment if I need to include any additional information. 
  
  
  
title: Tariffs for international shipping