Effective today, August 29, 2025, de minimis duty-free treatment under 19 U.S.C. § 1321(a)(2)(C) is no longer available for shipments valued at $800 or less, entering into the United States, including those entering through international mail, under Executive Order (“EO”) 14324 of July 30, 2025.
Carriers delivering shipments to the United States through the international postal network, or other qualifying parties that are approved by Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), must collect and remit duties to CBP using one of the two methodologies described in EO 14324. Any carrier that transports international postal shipments to the United States, by any mode of transportation, must have an international carrier bond to ensure payment of the duties.
Qualified parties are companies working with or independently of a carrier, foreign postal operator, or the United States Postal Service. The qualified parties must be approved by CBP beforehand, and those companies assume liability for remittance of duties under one of the two methodologies allowed by CBP.
Each carrier or other qualified party must apply the same methodology across all covered shipments during any given period of time to all postal items but may change the duty collection methodology no more than once per calendar month, or on another schedule determined to be appropriate by CBP, upon providing at least 24 hours’ notice to CBP.
The two methodologies for calculating the duties owed on low-value imports under EO 14324 are summarized below:
- Methodology 1: A duty equal to the effective International Emergency Economic Powers (“IEEPA”) tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product shall be assessed on the value of each dutiable postal item (package) containing goods entered for consumption; or
- Methodology 2: A specific duty shall be assessed on each package containing goods entered for consumption, based on the effective IEEPA tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product as follows:
- Countries with an effective IEEPA tariff rate of less than 16 percent: $80 per item;
- Countries with an effective IEEPA tariff rate between 16 and 25 percent (inclusive): $160 per item; and
- Countries with an effective IEEPA rate above 25 percent: $200 per item.
Methodology 2 is only available for a temporary 6-month period from the effective date of the EO. After the end of that period, all merchandise imported into the United States will be subject to the rates applicable to imports under the IEEPA based on the country of origin of the product.
Many postal services have cancelled all parcel shipments to the United States. Companies should work closely with their customs brokers and couriers to ensure compliance and avoid significant shipping delays. Additionally, companies with contracts with express couriers and logistics providers should review those contract terms and ensure they have provided clear instructions regarding low-value shipments going forward. Given the massive number of low value shipments affected by this rule, we expect to see customs clearance delays and confusion regarding how tariff payments are to be made and which party will shoulder the payment burden.
