Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 let goods valued at $800 or less per person per day enter the United States free of duty and with a fraction of the normal customs paperwork. For a decade of ecommerce growth, it was the assumption under every cross-border price: a $50 item from an overseas seller arrived with nothing added.
The end came in steps. De minimis ended for shipments from China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025. Executive Order 14324 suspended it for every country on August 29, 2025. CBP then wrote the suspension into its own regulations in June 2026, making it indefinite for all modes of transport, and created a new postal informal-entry process. Congress repeals the statutory provision outright on July 1, 2027, so the exemption cannot return without new legislation.
The practical consequence is simple: every parcel entering the US now needs an entry and pays duty, whatever its value and whatever its origin. Informal entry is generally available up to $2,500, but it is no longer duty-free. The value CBP tests on that entry is the declared value, and a valuation dispute starts when the declared value fails the test.
The first error is the duty line. A model that multiplies the tariff rate by zero for shipments under $800 understates the duty on every parcel, and the understatement is the full duty, not a rounding error. A $50 item at a 20 percent rate owes $10, and a thousand $50 items owe $10,000 that the model never counted.
The second error is the entry cost. A shipment that once crossed with no broker and no entry now needs an entry, a 10-digit HTS classification, and a filer. The postal informal-entry process requires bonded filers and monthly duty payment, which is a fixed cost per shipment that the old model never had.
The third error is the timing. Duties on postal shipments are now calculated with the standard ad valorem method based on the item's tariff classification and value, and the rate that applies is the classified rate plus any Section 301 or Section 232 duties that stack on top of it. A subscription that ships the same parcel every month pays that duty every month, and the customer sees the total only when the parcel arrives.
Start with the classification. Every product needs its 10-digit HTS code, because the duty rate, the Section 301 status, and the Section 232 status all hang off it. A product without a code cannot be priced, and a product with the wrong code is priced wrong in both directions.
Then add the entry cost as a line, not a footnote. The broker fee, the filing cost, and the duty itself are all per-shipment costs, and they belong in the per-unit math, divided by the units in the shipment. A $40 entry cost on a 10-unit shipment is $4 a unit. On a 100-unit shipment it is $0.40.
And stop planning around the exemption coming back. The statute behind it is scheduled for repeal on July 1, 2027, and CBP's own regulations now rest on the agency's authority under 19 USC 1321, not on the executive orders. Confirm the position for your product, origin, and channel with a licensed customs broker before pricing, because the rates and the procedures change by notice.
No. It was suspended for shipments from every country on August 29, 2025, by Executive Order 14324, made indefinite by CBP regulation in June 2026, and is scheduled for statutory repeal on July 1, 2027. Every commercial parcel now needs an entry and pays duty.
They lost the exemption but kept a simplified path. Shipments valued at $2,500 or less can still move through informal entry, but they are no longer duty-free, and the postal informal-entry process requires a 10-digit HTS classification, bonded filers, and monthly duty payment.
Yes, for accompanied baggage. The $800 allowance for personal or household use goods you carry across the border is separate and still in effect. The suspension targets goods shipped by mail or courier.
Classify every product with its 10-digit HTS code, add the duty at the classified rate plus any stacked Section 301 or 232 duties, and add the entry and broker cost as a per-unit line. Then confirm the current rates with a licensed customs broker before pricing.