US de minimis is suspended: what low-value imports now cost you

What de minimis means, and how it worked

De minimis is Latin shorthand for something too small to matter. In US customs it is an administrative exemption in 19 U.S.C. 1321, Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930, meant to stop the government spending more on collecting duty than the duty is worth [1]. It sets three limits: gifts of $100 or less, personal articles of $200 or less that travellers carry, and $800 in any other case, counted as the total fair retail value one person imports in one day [1]. The third is what the trade calls de minimis.

A qualifying parcel was released on the carrier's manifest or bill of lading with very little data, or from 2019 through the voluntary Entry Type 86 [3], free of duty and of any tax imposed by reason of importation [1] and of the merchandise processing fee [5]. Splitting an order into several parcels to stay under the limit was never allowed [1].

What changed, and when

China, including Hong Kong, lost the exemption on 2 May 2025 [2]. A law enacted on 4 July 2025 strikes the $800 limit from the statute from 1 July 2027 [1], and an executive order suspended the exemption for every other origin from 29 August 2025 [3]. The Supreme Court's ruling of 20 February 2026 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorise tariffs left de minimis untouched, and a new order continued the suspension that day [3]. On 24 June 2026 CBP made it indefinite in its own regulations, for mail and all other modes, saying it would have acted even without the orders [3].

Is de minimis still in effect?

No. As checked on 22 September 2026, CBP's e-commerce FAQ, last modified on 2 September 2026, applies the suspension to goods arriving by any mode, including mail, whatever their origin, unless a separate authority excepts them [4]. The amended regulation, 19 CFR 10.151, keeps it in place until CBP decides otherwise and announces the change in the Federal Register [3]. Goods from Japan, the UK or the EU are treated like goods from China. Two narrow exemptions survive unchanged: bona fide gifts, and personal or household articles that travellers carry [4].

Why de minimis was suspended, and will it come back?

CBP's June 2026 rules give the reasons. Volume rose from 139 million de minimis shipments in 2015 to over 1.36 billion in fiscal year 2024, released on thin data; many were undervalued or misclassified; the route was used in attempts to bring in fentanyl, counterfeits and other illicit goods; and the duty forgone grew with trade-action duties, while electronic filing made collection cheap [3]. The executive orders also cited national emergencies over drugs, border security and trade deficits [3].

As checked on 22 September 2026, no official page reviewed here signals a return. CBP's rule is written to survive any change to the executive orders, and from 1 July 2027 the statute drops the general exemption, which CBP calls its permanent termination [1] [3]. Until then a return would need both the orders and CBP's regulation reversed [3]; after that, Congress would have to legislate again.

How a low-value shipment is entered now

CBP names informal entry, Entry Type 11, as the main route for shipments that used to qualify, with formal entry still an option [3]. Informal entry covers goods valued at $2,500 or less; formal entry is required above that or for goods under quota or anti-dumping or countervailing duties [3] [4]. A party qualified to make entry files it in ACE [3]: usually the express carrier's brokerage team, a licensed customs broker you appoint, or your company as importer of record.

Mail has its own route. Since 24 July 2026 only the owner or purchaser, or a licensed broker they designate, can file a mail informal entry; the filer needs a bond, sends CBP the 10-digit tariff code, origin, value and duty for each parcel, and settles through Pay.gov by the seventh day of the following month, or the parcel is held [4]. From 22 October 2026, mail goods carrying Chapter 98 or 99 duties, claiming Chapter 98 or trade-agreement duty-free treatment, or under another agency's rules need formal entry or the voluntary Entry Type 13 test [4].

What it now costs a small activewear brand

Duty applies to every parcel, at the rate for the garment's 10-digit code in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and its origin [4], plus any trade-action duties listed in Chapter 99 [3] [4]. Activewear codes turn on construction, fibre and garment type, so one wrong code repeats on every parcel. Rates change: look them up in the schedule the US International Trade Commission publishes online, not in an old quote.

On a small parcel the fixed costs can outweigh the duty. Informal entries carry a merchandise processing fee and formal entries a value-based one with a floor and a cap, with amounts CBP reviews every fiscal year [5]; most mail is exempt [4]. The filer's charge, which no authority publishes, comes on top. None of this shrinks with parcel value, so each extra parcel adds a full set of costs that one consolidated shipment carries once.

Direct-to-consumer orders are the most exposed. On delivery terms that leave import charges with the receiver, the shopper is asked to pay at the door, and a mail parcel without a proper entry is held [4]. Either way, the surprise lands on the brand.

Do other markets still have a de minimis threshold?

Some do, but they relieve different things. Figures are as checked on 22 September 2026: the UK's from HM Treasury's response updated on 13 July 2026 [6], the EU's from Commission guidance updated on 20 July 2026 [7], Canada's from a Canada Border Services Agency page modified on 25 November 2025 [9] and Australia's from an Australian Border Force page updated on 22 September 2024 [10]. The UK and the EU are moving, like the US, towards duty on every consignment [6] [7].

What to check and put in writing

Settle five points in writing before the next order ships: who is importer of record for bulk orders, samples and direct-to-consumer parcels; the 10-digit HTSUS code for each style, with the fibre content and construction behind it; a real declared value for samples; which mode each kind of shipment uses and, for mail, which broker and bond cover it [4]; and whether any DDP quote you hold was priced before 29 August 2025.

Consolidation is the main lever left: one bulk shipment into a US warehouse carries one entry and one set of fees, where the same goods sent as parcels carry one each. SEAMDANCE consolidates a brand's styles into bulk shipments rather than shipping parcel by parcel; the entry and its duty remain the importer's responsibility. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm specific shipments with a licensed customs broker.