Important De Minimis and U.S. Customs Update

Important De Minimis and U.S. Customs Update

Changes at U.S. Customs don’t just affect shipping companies, they affect every business that sells into the United States. At Whalebacker, we make it our job to keep clients ahead of the curve so they can avoid costly surprises. One major change is now here: starting August 29th, 2025, U.S. Customs is ending the de minimis duty exemption. This shift will significantly impact shipments entering the U.S.

Let’s break it down.

What exactly is “de minimus”?

If you’ve ever returned from an international trip, you’ve experienced the concept: travelers can bring in goods up to a certain value without paying duty. Spent a few hundred dollars abroad? You’re most likely fine to enter the country without paying anything more. Splurged on a $2,000 watch? You’ll owe customs duty—a percentage-based tax that varies by product type and country of origin.

“De minimis” follows the same concept, but instead of travelers hand-carrying the purchases across the border, it applies to parcels. For years, packages valued under $800 per person, per day, entered the U.S. duty-free.

This exemption has been especially valuable for small businesses. For example, an indie publisher running a crowdfunding campaign for a board game with a $30 MSRP could ship directly from the factory in China that manufactured the game to each individual American backer without incurring duties. That kept costs low, streamlined fulfillment, and ensured the backers weren’t hit with extra fees to be able to receive their package.

Without this exemption, importers (and often, as a result, their customers) will see new costs layered onto every shipment.

What’s changing now?

As of August 29th, all packages shipped to the U.S. are subject to duty, no matter their value.

The scale of this change is enormous. De minimis shipments currently make up roughly 92% of all incoming cargo volume, which is about 4 million packages a day. Until now, USPS handled duty collection on many parcels. With the exemption gone, USPS will now only deliver packages, and not collect taxes for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Instead, foreign postal operators must:

  1. Calculate the correct U.S. duty on each parcel,
  2. Collect that duty in advance from the importer on record,
  3. Remit payment to U.S. Customs before the package can be handed to USPS.

The result? Significant delays and confusion. Shippers may reach out for additional payments before your package is released by U.S. Customs, and delivery times are expected to stretch.

How is this playing out so far?

Unsurprisingly, many foreign postal services aren’t equipped to suddenly manage U.S. tax collection on millions of shipments a day. Implementing new systems, training staff, and transmitting data securely to CBP requires massive infrastructure investments, and many aren’t ready. 

As a result, several countries have suspended parcel shipments to the U.S. until they can figure out how to comply. This disruption is hitting global e-commerce and supply chains hard, with no clear timeline for resolution.

Countries currently suspending U.S. parcel shipments include:

  • Australia
  • India
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • South Korea
  • Singapore
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • France
  • Germany
  • Austria
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Russia
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom
  • Belgium
  • Mexico

These countries are hopeful that they will reestablish parcel shipments to the U.S. once these problems are resolved, but businesses depending on international fulfillment are already feeling the impact.

What should businesses do?

The companies most affected are:

  • International small businesses selling into the U.S., and
  • U.S. businesses manufacturing overseas and shipping directly to American customers.

If you’re in either category, the most reliable solution is to move inventory into the U.S. and fulfill domestically. By partnering with a warehouse and pick-and-pack logistics provider like Whalebacker, you can import bulk shipments, store them in our facility, and then ship directly to North American customers without interruptions from foreign postal suspensions. 

For any questions, or to start exploring how we can keep your business moving, reach out to us at support@whalebacker.com. We’re ready to be the muscle behind your hustle.

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