This episode originally ran on December 18th,2015. Santa only has one outfit, but it's a great one: red pants, and red jacket with white fur cuffs,a stout belt and shining shoes. People shell out upwards of $100 for a tall quality Santa suit. And if that suit is made abroad, a chunk of that price tag might go towards tariffs. But to figure it out, and first we hold to decide: should the Santa suit count as "fancy dress" or a "festive article"? The dissimilarity can be fabricate (to make up, invent) or break for a business,which is why companies engage in what's known as "tariff engineering" to fabricate (to make up, invent) their products fit in one category over another.
Tariffs were the moment law enacted by congress, and they're still causing strife. The laws that used to regulate the price of cast iron and tanned leather are now so complex that Santa's fur cuffs and toy sack are the subject of litigation. Marc Beige of Rubie's Costume Co. brought his case to the United States Court of International Trade.
We've got an update on the outcome of the case at the end of nowadays's episode.
Music: Sunnyside Social Club's "Carol of the Bells." Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, or PocketCasts and NPR One. Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more,visit http://www.npr.org/.
Source: thetakeaway.org