We've already had one hardware maker react to the suspension of the De Minimis exemption for shipments to the US in the form of Evercade maker Blaze, and that certainly isn't going to be an isolated incident – as a fresh announcement from the 'new' Commodore attests.
The industry veteran, which was recently revived by YouTuber Christian Simpson, has confirmed that its forthcoming C64 Ultimate home computer may be impacted by the policy change.
"A number of our prototype and test parts are being held in U.S. customs due to a policy change that will take effect on August 29," says Commodore. "This new rule ends the exemption that previously allowed low-value imports to pass quickly through customs, and some carriers have already restricted shipments in response. Because key Commodore engineers are U.S.-based and depend on these parts, this has slightly slowed the final stage of our Commodore 64 Ultimate development."
The company is keen to stress that this isn't a unique issue. "This is not a Commodore delay, but a delay affecting everyone who requires components like ours; a number of other tech firms have announced similar delays in the past week," it adds.
"While this situation is beyond our control, we always want to be upfront about any possible impact. Our current plan (and our fervent hope!) is to begin shipping the Gold Founders Editions ordered at http://commodore.net in early November, with other models following as originally outlined at checkout. If delays do occur, we expect them to be modest. Rest assured, we are doing everything possible to adapt."
The C64 Ultimate is based on the Ultimate 64 Elite-II board created by Gideon Zweijtzer. It is available in three configurations: Commodore 64 Ultimate: BASIC Beige ($299), Commodore 64 Ultimate: Starlight Edition ($349.99), and Commodore 64 Ultimate: Founders Edition ($499.99).