Legal basis: International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)
Scope:All countries
Effective date:29 August 2025
Tariff rate
- The applicable tariff for de minimis items will be the "effective IEEPA tariff rate," ie, the total rate of duty imposed under any of the IEEPA tariffs.
- The elimination of the long-standing de minimis exemption under 19 U.S.C. § 1321(a)(2)(C), is effective as of 12:01 a.m. (EST) on August 29, 2025 (but will become effective for postal shipments when the Secretary of Commerce notifies the President that "adequate systems are in place to fully and expeditiously process and collect duties" for postal shipments).
- The former de minimis exception was used widely in e-commerce for items with a value less than $800 (over 1.36 billion shipments in 2024).
- For international postal shipments, there are two methods for assessing duty.
- In Method 1 (available for six months from the date of the
order), the calculation of duty is as follows:
- If the applicable Reciprocal Tariff for the country is less than 16%, then duty is $80 per item.
- If the applicable Reciprocal Tariff for the country is between 16% and 25% (inclusive), the duty is $160 per item.
- If the applicable Reciprocal Tariff is greater than 25%, then the duty is $200 per item.
- In Method 2 (available as soon as the order becomes effective), the tariff for items under $800 in value will be calculated ad valorem at the Reciprocal Tariff rate applicable to the country of origin.
- US Customs and Border Protection is authorized to require a basic importation and entry bond for informal entries valued at or less than $2,500.
Carve outs
Articles that are exempt under 50 U.S.C. § 1702(b)
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
