AMERICANS will soon be forced to shell out more cash for their packages when a new law takes effect on August 29.
As the removal of the de minimis exemption looms under the Trump administration’s new regulations, consumers can expect that orders they receive from abroad will cost a pretty penny more.
In the coming weeks, Americans will pay new fees on small packages being shipped internationally under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on July 30, 2025.
The order, titled “Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries,” will officially eliminate a de minimis loophole that permitted foreign goods valued at $800 or less to enter the US duty-free and with minimal customs oversight.
Trump previously eliminated the de minimis exemption for China and Hong Kong in May of this year, sparking fears that prices on goods from Shein and Temu would soar.
Now, the new regulations will impact incoming shipments from every country around the globe and take effect starting at 12:01 am eastern daylight time on August 29, 2025.
Non-postal shipments from private carriers such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL will be subject to the standard formal entry process once the deadline hits.
This means these shipments will be subject to all applicable duties and taxes based on the product’s Harmonized Tariff Schedule, or HTS, code and what country they come from.
They will be charged an ad valorem duty, which is a percentage of the item’s declared value.
For example, a purchase from Europe will incur a 15% tax based on current tariff rates, while a shipment from Brazil will see an extra 50% tacked on.
Products bought from platforms like Amazon Haul, Temu, Shein, and eBay will soon have an additional surcharge based on the tariff rate of their country of origin.
If a private carrier is unable to calculate the specific tariff, a flat fee of $80 per package will apply regardless of the item’s value.
Postal packages entering the country through the international postal network, such as China Post to the United States Postal Service, will be subject to a different tariff structure.
These shipments will either see a new, specific fee tacked on, or the standard ad valorem duty. The higher of the two charges will be added.
The abolition of the de minimis exemption will have minimal impact on bona fide gifts between individuals and personal allowances for travelers, which fall under separate policies.
PARCEL PROBLEMS
The de minimis expemption was officially implemented in 1938 to avoid the administrative cost of taxing low-value imports, initially set at $1.
Why has Trump hit China, Canada, and Mexico with tariffs?
DONALD Trump has imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing has retaliated. Trump also hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs, but walked back many of them on March 6
China:
- Trump believes China has not done enough to stop the production of chemicals used to make the drug fentanyl.
- China has slammed Trump for the claim and described fentanyl as America’s problem.
- The country also said the tariffs are a “serious violation” of the World Trade Organization rules.
- China is filing a lawsuit with the WTO against the US for “wrongful practice.”
- China serves as a major supplier of auto parts to the US.
- Phones, computers, and other key electronic devices were also in the top imports from China last year, according to Commerce Department data.
- In 2023, the US imported around $427 billion worth of products from China, according to the US Census Bureau.
- Data reveals that 78% of all smartphones imported from the US came from China.
- Trump’s tariff threat has sparked fears of price rises for fashion items and toys.
- Beijing has responded by outlining its own tariffs on American goods, sparking fears of an all-out trade war between the two superpowers.
Canada:
- Trump ignited a trade war with Canada and Mexico during his first days in office as part of a campaign promise to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States.
- He said both countries had not done enough to halt the drug flow and the mass influx of migrants from reaching US soil.
- A total of 59 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the northern border by US agents between 2022 and 2024, according to the Canadian government.
- Meanwhile, almost 62,000 pounds of the drug was seized at the southern border.
- The 25% tariffs Trump proposed on Canadian goods were destined to come into force on March 4.
- Canada responded with a 25% tariff on $155 billion of American imports.
- On March 6, Trump warned the 25% tariff on steel and aluminium would come into force on March 12.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded with a 25% surcharge on electricity exported to Michigan, Minnesota, and New York.
- Trump then threatened to double the 25% tariff to 50%.
- The Ontario premier warned that he “will not hesitate to increase” the levies or completely shut off power to the three US northeastern states.
- Both sides then agreed to talk and toned down their threat.
- Ford then paused the electricity surcharge.
Mexico:
- Mexico has managed to twice postpone Trump’s tariffs on Mexican goods.
- On February 1, Trump signed an executive order to impose tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China.
- But, on February 3, Trump agreed to pause the levies against Canada and Mexico after the countries took steps to appease Trump’s concerns on border security and drug trafficking.
- Trump then threatened that the 25% tariffs would come into force on March 4.
- Two days later, Trump announced a delay on most goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
- Trump credited Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s progress on border security and drug smuggling as a reason for the pause on the levies.
- The Mexican Navy has seized thousands of kilograms of drugs from criminal gangs.
- Sheinbaum promised to deploy 10,000 extra troops to the Mexico-US border.
- Still, Trump has maintained that on April 2, the US will begin imposing reciprocal tariffs on all its trading partners, including Mexico.
The value maximum has climbed in line with inflation, reaching $5 by 1978, $200 in 1993, and $800 by 2016.
The latter change aligned with the exponential growth of e-commerce, with the number of small shipments spiking from 220 million in 2016 to more than one billion in 2023.
Allowing packages valued at $800 or less into the US duty-free created what many believed to be an unintentional loophole in our country’s trade policy.
Fast-fashion retailers, drop shipping businesses, and direct-to-consumer brands have capitalized on the de minimis exemption for years, building their entire business models around sending small, individual packages directly to American shoppers.
The Trump administration is moving to end the exemption under the premise that it creates a loophole for countries to dodge tariffs and potentially allows products made with forced labor to enter the US as well as illegal shipments such as fentanyl.
Once the de minimis exemption is axed, the roughly 1.36 billion annual shipments to the US from foreign countries that were previously tax-exempt will cost consumers more.
Check out other changes in the works under the Trump administration, including a coin phase out that will force Americans to pay an extra $6 million each year.
Plus, millions of Americans will see $1,000 checks automatically deposited in their accounts – see when yours is on the way.
