De Minimis Suspension: CBP Pushes Postal Entry Deadline to 2027

A loophole closed, then written into regulation

The $800 duty-free door for low-value parcels has been closed for a while. What changed this summer is that U.S. Customs and Border Protection wrote the closure into its own regulations and set up new paperwork to replace it. On June 24, 2026, CBP issued interim final rules that indefinitely suspend the de minimis administrative exemption for shipments worth $800 or less. Those shipments now need an informal or formal entry, and the agency also announced a test of an electronic informal entry for international mail, called Entry Type 13.21 The work was split across two rules: one for every mode except the postal network, and a second for international mail.23

The latest change is about timing, not substance. On October 14, CBP moved the compliance date for the new international mail entry procedures from October 22, 2026, to January 20, 2027. The agency said the 90 days give importers, brokers and logistics providers more time to update their systems and should avoid disruption to some inbound postal shipments.25 Compliance advisers have stressed that the extension does not suspend any duties. The postal exemption is still off, and low-value parcels can still owe charges depending on what they contain and where they come from.29

How the U.S. got here

The rule is the latest step in an 18-month campaign. An executive order ended de minimis for shipments from China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025. A second order extended the suspension to all countries from August 29, 2025.23 The Supreme Court then struck down the IEEPA-based tariffs on February 20, 2026, in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. The White House signed an order the same day keeping the de minimis suspension in place.11 Practitioners note that CBP's June rules rely on the agency's own authority under 19 U.S.C. 1321(b), not on IEEPA. That is why the court ruling did not bring the exemption back.28 The Court of International Trade upheld the suspension on August 13, 2026.23

The longer-term picture is also settled. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act repeals the exemption by statute from July 1, 2027.26 The current postal process is therefore a bridge to a permanent change, not a temporary disruption, and lawyers have advised clients to plan on that basis.26

CBP justifies the change on revenue and enforcement grounds. It says it processed more than 1.36 billion de minimis shipments in 2024, and it points to undervaluation, misclassification and illicit goods as risks.21 The agency did not use normal notice-and-comment procedures, citing the foreign-affairs exception and, alternatively, good cause.21 The Government Accountability Office's review of the postal rule records CBP's argument that any delay could open a gap through which drugs and counterfeit goods could enter.22

The new mail regime is heavier than it looks

The biggest operational change is for international mail. Under the earlier stopgap, "qualified third parties" such as foreign postal operators could file monthly spreadsheets that applied a flat 10% duty without tariff classifications.26 The new process covers mail shipments worth up to $2,500 and limits who can file:21

• Only parties with the right to make entry, or licensed customs brokers, may file.
• Filers must post a basic importation and entry bond, and shipments are held until the bond is received.
• Each entry must include a merchandise description and a 10-digit HTSUS classification.
• Entries are filed monthly in an Excel spreadsheet and paid through Pay.gov.

Goods subject to antidumping or countervailing duties, quotas, Section 301 or 232 remedies, or partner-agency requirements cannot use this simplified route.21 Once the procedures are fully in force, mail shipments subject to Section 201, 232 or 301 duties, or regulated by another federal agency, must be filed electronically through Entry Type 13 to qualify as informal entries. Otherwise they need a formal entry.25

The effects go beyond e-commerce. Patient advocates warned that prescription drugs mailed from Canada, which fall under FDA jurisdiction, could be delayed or refused once the grace period ends. The rule never mentions medicines by name.30 The January extension gives those patients, and the pharmacies that ship to them, three more months to find out.

On some details the coverage does not line up. One law-firm summary gives a mistaken 2024 effective date. Tracker sites separate the June 24 date for non-postal shipments from the July 24 date for mail.2128 CBP's own FAQ says the suspension took effect on publication for both channels, with the new mail entry process starting July 24.24 The best reading is that the rule was legally in force from June and the paperwork came later.

Temu, Shein and the cost of a $5 top

The price effects are well documented, and they agree on direction. Shein's Hong Kong listing prospectus said a substantial majority of its U.S. sales used to enter under the $800 limit. The company raised U.S. prices after the exemption ended.11 Shein's U.S. revenue fell about 14% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, while revenue elsewhere grew. Fulfillment costs rose to nearly 48 cents of every revenue dollar, from about 43 cents.11

Customs paperwork costs hit the cheapest items hardest. A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper estimated that broker and processing fees add about $23.19 per package, more than four times the price of a $5 blouse shipped alone.12 The same research suggests lower-income households carry the largest burden. Nearly three-quarters of imports to the poorest zip codes had come in duty-free, against about half in the richest. The average tariff on those households' foreign orders rose from almost zero to nearly 12%.11

The effect on shopping behavior is less clear. Panel data shows Temu's U.S. audience fell as much as 62% and Shein's 47% after the China-specific cutoff in 2025. By April 2026 both had partly recovered, to about 30% below where they started, with Target, Walmart and Amazon picking up the shoppers who left.16 Consumer guides report that Temu shifted part of its catalog to U.S. warehouses, while orders shipped directly from China still show import charges at checkout.17 The likely conclusion is that ending de minimis permanently reset the bottom of the American price range, but it did not remove the platforms. They changed how they ship.

Europe follows, with a simpler and blunter tool

The EU has acted on the same problem in a different way. Since July 1, 2026, a temporary €3 customs duty has applied to non-EU parcels worth up to €150. It is charged per tariff classification, not per unit. Five T-shirts cost €3, while three T-shirts and a watch cost €6.1 The legal basis is Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382. The flat duty is set to run until July 1, 2028, as a bridge to the EU Customs Data Hub and normal tariff rates.2

This falls under the wider Union Customs Code reform, and the next stage is close. A Commission act adopted on September 21 sets a €2 handling fee per item from November 2026. Unlike the €3 duty, it has no value ceiling and continues after 2028.9 Item-level product identifiers are also expected to become mandatory.10 Duty paid under the flat-rate system cannot be refunded, even when goods are returned.10

The European coverage disagrees on several points that sellers need settled:

• Scope: The Council described the duty as applying to goods from IOSS-registered sellers, which it said covers 93% of e-commerce flows.5 A logistics guide says it applies to all distance sales whatever VAT scheme is used.9
• Collection: One VAT provider says the carrier pays the duty and bills the merchant.6 Another source puts responsibility on the declarant.9
• Handling fee: It has been described both as per consignment and as per item. The later reporting, which cites the September delegated act, says per item.89

The Commission's monthly monitoring of IOSS diversion, starting October 1, should help settle the scope question.14

Why it matters: the shift to local warehouses

Taken together, the U.S. and EU measures move the world's two largest consumer markets away from duty-free small parcels at the same moment.8 They take different routes. Washington chose full entry processes, bonds and classification data. Brussels chose a flat proxy duty while it builds its IT systems.

The early European evidence matches what happened in the U.S. Temu's EU growth reportedly sped up to more than 60% in May 2026, just before the duty took effect. Analysts expect the platforms to stock more inventory locally rather than pull back.14 Experts on Chinese e-commerce had predicted that Temu's European warehouses would soften the impact.13

The likely outcome is that both regimes will raise revenue and improve customs oversight. Their competitive effect will be smaller than retailers hope. The sellers most exposed are small merchants who ship each order directly across the border, and the lower-income shoppers who depended on cheap imports. The giant platforms are moving their inventory onshore.