US de minimis in 2026: what is suspended, on what authority, and what sellers should assume

Whether low-value parcels can enter the United States duty free is one of the most expensive questions in cross-border selling, and the answer in 2026 has been repeatedly misreported as changing. The short version, from three secondary sources whose latest is dated 30 June 2026, is that it has not changed: the de minimis exemption remains suspended^1,2,3. What did change is the legal authority behind the suspension. This article explains that, why the 1 July 2027 date in the law may not mean much, and what to assume when you build prices. We did not retrieve CBP's own guidance, so check it for current rules.

What is suspended, and since when?

Thomson Reuters Institute reports that Executive Order 14324 suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries, effective 29 August 2025, and that goods valued up to $2,500 now require informal entries and tariffs¹. The Sales Tax People says China and Hong Kong lost the exemption earlier, on 2 May 2025, and that other countries lost it on 29 August 2025³. Ordoro says the $800 duty-free limit has not been restored².

Did the Supreme Court's ruling change that?

Not directly. The Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorise the broad tariffs imposed under it^1,2. Ordoro explains that the ruling addressed the legal basis for certain tariffs, not de minimis, which came from a separate executive action, so the ruling did not reverse the suspension². Thomson Reuters Institute adds that after the decision, Executive Order 14388 reimposed the suspension under Section 1321 authority, effective 24 February 2026¹.

Our reading: this is why headlines that said "de minimis is back" were wrong. The tariffs that had been imposed under IEEPA and the suspension of the exemption are different measures with different legal footing.

What about the 1 July 2027 end date?

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act sets a statutory end date of 1 July 2027¹. Thomson Reuters Institute says the bill's legislative history, in House Report 119-106, preserves the president's authority to restrict de minimis earlier, so the date does not guarantee that the exemption survives until then, and it calls the date "a headline, not a lifeline"¹. The sensible reading for a seller is that the date does not tell you what the rule will be next year, and nothing in these sources promises a return of duty-free parcels.

What changes in practice for sellers?

Ordoro describes the effect plainly: low-value shipments that once entered duty free are now subject to tariffs and additional customs processing². The Sales Tax People adds three points, each of which should be checked against official sources because the page itself warns that some of its citations link to unrelated pages³:

• Carriers must use the ad valorem method, a percentage of item value, exclusively from 28 February 2026.
• Tariff costs passed on to customers can be included in the taxable sales price, as California and Wisconsin are said to have confirmed.
• The EU began a flat €3 duty per tariff code from 1 July 2026, with full removal of its exemption in mid-2028.

How should you plan landed cost?

These are our recommendations.

1. Assume duty applies to every parcel. Put the duty line in your landed-cost sheet and compute it per order, not as an afterthought.
2. Settle who pays in writing. Ordoro advises defining import cost responsibility in supplier agreements, such as DDP (delivered duty paid) or DDU (delivered duty unpaid) terms². Under DDU, you may receive a duty bill after the order is sold.
3. Check who is the importer of record. The party named on the entry is the one responsible for duties and, where refunds exist, the one entitled to claim them.
4. Consider consolidating. Bulk imports are treated differently from parcels, and forward stocking may lower the per-unit cost. Ask a customs broker whether it works for your volumes.
5. Revisit prices in your sales-tax states. If duty is passed on and affects the taxable price, the rate you collect may change³.
6. Avoid planning around 1 July 2027. The date may not be a guide to the rule¹.

What is still unknown?

Our newest source is dated 30 June 2026, so developments in the summer are not covered³. The three sources do not agree on every detail, such as the legal basis described in the Sales Tax People article, and that article's own verification note says to confirm rates and instruments against CBP and the Official Journal³. Thomson Reuters Institute also reports that the lead refund test case has settled¹; we describe the refund process separately in our guide to CBP's CAPE tool.