De Minimis Rules for Low-Value Shipments

What changed when the $800 de minimis exemption ended for China-origin goods, and what it means for small importers and e-commerce sellers.

For years, Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 allowed shipments valued under $800 to enter the United States duty-free and with minimal formal customs processing — the "de minimis" exemption. It was the mechanism that made low-cost direct-to-consumer shipping from China economically viable at scale. That exemption no longer applies to China and Hong Kong-origin merchandise.

What changed

Following an executive order in April 2025, CBP eliminated the de minimis exemption for goods originating in China and Hong Kong, effective May 2, 2025. This was a targeted change — de minimis treatment continues for low-value shipments from other countries — but for any business whose supply chain runs through China, it removed a mechanism that many smaller importers and drop-shippers had built their entire cost structure around.

What applies now

Postal shipments

For goods entering through the international postal network, carriers must collect duty using one of two methods: 120% of the item's declared value, or a flat per-item fee that started at $100 and increased to $200 per item as of June 1, 2025. This flat/percentage duty is charged in place of standard HTS and Section 301 duties — not in addition to them — for qualifying postal shipments.

Non-postal shipments (courier, freight)

Low-value goods shipped outside the postal network — through commercial couriers or standard freight — no longer get de minimis treatment at all. They're subject to the full range of applicable duties, including the standard HTS general duty rate and any Section 301, Section 122, or Section 232 tariffs that apply to the product, and generally require formal customs entry through a licensed customs broker rather than the simplified clearance low-value shipments used to receive.

Practical implications

• E-commerce and dropshipping models that relied on shipping individual low-value parcels directly from China to US consumers lost their primary cost advantage overnight and generally need to restructure around bulk import and domestic fulfillment instead.
• Small importers who previously avoided formal entry procedures for modest-value shipments now need a relationship with a licensed customs broker even for orders that would have cleared informally before.
• Consolidation — combining what used to be many small parcel shipments into fewer, larger formal-entry shipments — is now often more cost-efficient than shipping small parcels individually, since it spreads brokerage and compliance costs across more volume.