Good morning. That one obscure part you order from an overseas seller because nobody stateside stocks it used to clear customs free and fast if it came in under $800. That window is closed. Now it pays duty like everything else — and somebody has to file a customs entry for it.
Top story: the $800 duty-free shortcut is gone
For years, any shipment worth $800 or less could enter the U.S. duty-free with no formal customs entry, under the "de minimis" rule. That's what made it cheap and quick to order a one-off part, a specialty tool, or a gadget straight from an overseas seller or a marketplace that ships from abroad.
That exemption was suspended for all countries on August 29, 2025, and on June 24, 2026 Customs and Border Protection made the suspension indefinite — in two rules, one for parcels arriving by courier or freight and one for the international mail. The result: a low-value import is now "subject to applicable duties, taxes and fees," and it needs a real customs entry — informal entry for anything valued $2,500 or less, formal entry above that. For couriered parcels, that entry has to be filed in CBP's ACE system by an authorized filer — which is why carriers typically add a customs-clearance charge to deliveries that used to just show up.
Why it hits your book: the line you treated as "cheap part, free shipping" now carries the duty, any tariff that applies to that product, a clearance fee, and a few extra days. Quote a job on the old landed cost and you eat the gap.
Quick hits
It's every country now, not a China-only thing. The cutoff first hit China and Hong Kong, then extended to all countries on August 29, 2025 (Executive Order 14324). The June 2026 rules make it indefinite, not a temporary order — so don't plan around de minimis quietly coming back. (Federal Register)
The mail isn't a side door, either. The second June 2026 rule ends duty-free de minimis for the international postal network too, with a new postal entry process whose compliance date, October 22, 2026, has now arrived for certain shipments. Ordering through the post instead of a courier doesn't dodge the duty. (CBP interim final rules)
The flat-rate shortcut already expired. During the 2025 transition, carriers could pay a flat per-item duty on postal shipments instead of the real rate. That option ended February 28, 2026. What applies now is the actual duty rate for the goods — the same rate your distributor's importer already pays. (CBP, via trade-law summary)
The Tip: price the landed cost, not the sticker
Before you order anything from overseas or an unfamiliar marketplace seller, do three things. First, check where it actually ships from — a U.S. marketplace listing that drop-ships from abroad is now an import, duty and entry included. Second, assume the real cost is the price plus duty, plus any tariff on that product, plus your carrier's customs-clearance fee, plus a few days — and either build that into the customer's quote or source it stateside. Third, for anything you buy in volume or need fast, run the math against a domestic distributor again; the gap that made overseas ordering worth the hassle just narrowed. Don't quote a job on a parts cost that's missing the customs bill.
Tool watch: [Not sponsored]
CBP's own guidance at cbp.gov lays out the entry types and the current de minimis status, and the two Federal Register interim final rules dated June 24, 2026 are the actual text. They're free, and they're where a reversal, a court injunction, or a new compliance date will show up first — worth a bookmark before your next overseas order, so you're reading the rule instead of your courier's invoice.
That's the callout. See you next time.
The Callout — the business brief for the trades. We label every commercial placement: [Sponsor], [Affiliate], or [Not sponsored]. Today's Tool watch is our own honest read: no one paid for it, and the only things named are free federal government pages. 231J Ramparts Road, Te Anau 9600, New Zealand · Unsubscribe anytime. Nothing in The Callout is customs, legal, tax or financial advice. Whether a given import owes duty, how much, and what entry it needs depend on the product, its value and its origin — confirm with a licensed customs broker or CBP before you rely on it. The de minimis exemption's status can change; re-check it before you order.
Sources
U.S. Customs and Border Protection — "Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Merchandise Arriving Through All Modes Other Than the International Postal Network," interim final rule, Federal Register, 24 June 2026 (FR Doc. 2026-12670): "This interim final rule is effective on June 24, 2026"; implements "an indefinite suspension of the de minimis administrative exemption" under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) for shipments valued $800 or less; applies to "merchandise arriving via all modes other than through the international postal network," with a separate concurrent rule for postal shipments; invokes 19 U.S.C. 1321(b) "to protect the revenue or to prevent unlawful importations," consistent with E.O. 14324, which "suspended duty-free de minimis treatment" (signed 30 July 2025, implemented 29 August 2025) for all countries; affected shipments "will need to use an appropriate entry type, such as the existing informal entry procedures for merchandise valued at $2,500 or less." https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/24/2026-12670/indefinite-suspension-of-the-de-minimis-exemption-for-merchandise-arriving-through-all-modes-other
Thompson Hine SmarTrade — "CBP Issues Interim Final Rules Indefinitely Suspending the De Minimis Exemption for Imports," June 2026: CBP's two rules are "indefinitely suspending the $800 de minimis duty exemption for all modes of importation of goods into the United States," "effective as of June 24, 2026"; "all such entries of low-value merchandise must utilize appropriate CBP entry procedures and are subject to applicable duties, taxes and fees"; a "new postal informal entry process for certain merchandise valued at $2,500 or less entering the United States through international mail," with a "delayed compliance date for certain specified shipments of October 22, 2026." https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2026/06/cbp-issues-interim-final-rules-indefinitely-suspending-the-de-minimis-exemption-for-imports/
BDO — "CBP Suspends De Minimis Exemption and Introduces New Postal Entry Requirements," 2026: two concurrent interim final rules (24 June 2026) end the $800 de minimis exemption for non-postal and postal shipments; shipments at or below $800 now require informal or formal entry; postal items valued $2,500 or less may use the new informal entry process; public comments accepted through 24 July 2026; Entry Type 13 testing begins 22 September 2026. https://www.bdo.com/insights/tax/cbp-suspends-de-minimis-exemption-and-introduces-new-postal-entry-requirements
GHY — "U.S. to End De Minimis Exemption for Low-Value Imports on August 29": "Effective August 29, 2025, the U.S. has suspended the de minimis exemption"; non-postal shipments "even those valued under $800, must now be formally entered in ACE by an authorized filer"; a transitional flat-rate per-item duty option for postal shipments (through 28 February 2026); "File customs entries for every low-value import." https://www.ghy.com/trade-compliance/us-to-end-de-minimis-exemption-for-low-value-imports-on-august-29/
All Federal Register and summary pages read 3 October 2026 (US) / 4 October 2026 (NZDT).