A word about tariffs and Fast Tracks

When we launched Fast Tracks 22 years ago, offering a wide range of tools with a broad appeal to North American model railroaders, we didn't give much thought to how geopolitics would have any effect on what we were doing. Our goal was always to develop the highest quality, original products possible and offer them to our customers, wherever they were, at a reasonable price.

With the addition of a 25% tax being forced on our American customers by their government, we find ourselves at the mercy of forces we have no control over, and neither do our longtime US customers. For the past many years, if a customer in the US ordered over $800 of product from us, unknown to them, we would pay all the import fees. Orders under that threshold were not subject to any fees, but above that amount, there could be several, depending on what was purchased. We chalked it up to the cost of doing business and simply absorbed it.

In the short term, Fast Tracks will soften the blow to our loyal US customers and pay all the fees on their behalf for all orders, including this new tariff; perhaps those in charge will come to their senses after a few weeks when the reality of this sinks in, but who knows? In the longer term, we will have to wait and see how this all shakes out and make decisions based on the current environment at that time.