The Trump Administration ended the de minimis rule with an executive order last month.
There are two $800 import duty exemptions for items entering the United States, with one big difference: one of them ends August 29, and the other one doesn’t.
The $800 import duty exemption ending on August 29 is the de minimis rule for merchandise shipments from foreign retailers. Until that date, merchandise shipped to U.S. buyers from outside the country was exempt from import duties. The idea behind the rule was that the resources of U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) wouldn’t be tied up inspecting, valuing, and determining duty rates for small overseas shipments, allowing agents to spend more time on bigger ticket items entering the United States.
The Trump Administration ended the rule with an executive order last month, with the intent of incentivizing U.S. consumers to buy products from domestic retailers instead of ordering from those outside the country. A previous executive order only affected goods shipped from China or Hong Kong; the latest executive order applies to all inbound international shipments.
Postal networks in several countries said they would temporarily suspend shipments from their countries to the United States until logistical items surrounding such shipments could be ironed out. On Monday, Japan and Switzerland joined Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand in rolling out temporary pauses in shipments to the United States.
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The $800 exception that is not ending on August 29 is the value of goods that returning U.S. citizens and permanent residents can import in their possession without paying import duties. (There are also other exception amounts: $200 for travelers who have been outside the country less than 48 hours, and $1,200 for travelers inbound from U.S. territories and possessions like the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are not part of the United States’ customs zone, which includes the 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico).
That’s not to say travelers won’t be affected by the end of the de minimis rule. Travelers accustomed to having retailers ship their purchases to their home address in the United States may now find that the retailers must include import duties in the purchase price of the items—even if the purchaser is present at the foreign point of sale. If the retailer has not collected the duties, U.S. Customs may hold packages at a port of entry until the import duties have been paid.
Instead of having retailers ship their purchases, travelers can also ship items themselves (although they won’t be able to claim a VAT refund if they do—that’s only for items shipped abroad by retailers or exported by travelers in their luggage). Up to $200 in goods (a $100 maximum value per item also applies) can be shipped duty-free per day. The package should be marked “personal purchases,” and the items shipped should have their original receipts and a complete customs declaration.
Travelers should also keep receipts for purchases they travel with on their return home. CBP will only collect values in excess of the $800 duty-free exemption. For example, if you import $900 worth of goods, only $100 will be subject to import duties, and having original receipts will help speed the process at the CBP checkpoints.
Travelers enrolled in a Trusted Traveler program like TSA PreCheck or Global Entry should also be extra careful to ensure they’re following import regulations carefully by declaring all goods both in their possession and being shipped separately when re-entering the United States. As part of the terms of the trusted traveler programs, enrollees agree that they will abide by all U.S. import regulations. Even for small offenses like failing to declare dutiable items, CBP can revoke a traveler’s participation in a trusted traveler program.
Finally, it’s also worth remembering that duty-free purchases are still subject to limitations on imports. Items sold in duty-free shops abroad mean that their purchase price doesn’t include point-of-sale duties or taxes (because the items are being immediately exported), but the values of the items still count toward your $800 exemption when arriving in the United States.
