Sources checked September 15, 2026
US import rules for small shipments
There is no longer a value below which a commercial import skips US customs. Since 24 June 2026 the $800 de minimis exemption is suspended indefinitely for everything arriving by air, ocean or truck, and since 24 July 2026for international mail as well. In CBP's own words, every entry valued at $800 or less "must utilize formal or informal entry procedures".
Below is every step that got here, with the Federal Register or Supreme Court citation for each one, so you can check any line rather than trust this page. We publish it because most of what is written about de minimis online cites another article rather than the rule.
What applies to a small China shipment today
- Every shipment is entered. Formal or informal entry, whatever the value. The old habit of splitting an order into under-$800 parcels to avoid customs no longer does anything except multiply the paperwork.
- $2,500 is the line between informal and formal entry. Informal entry is authorised for shipments at or below that value (19 U.S.C. 1498(a)(1)(A), regulations at 19 CFR part 143, subpart C); formal entry procedures (19 U.S.C. 1484 and 1485) apply generally above it. Both need a real commercial invoice, a classification and a declared value.
- Duty is owed from the first dollarat your product's rate, plus whatever trade measures apply to it on the day of entry. Rates move; this page deliberately does not publish a current rate, because a stale tariff number is worse than none.
- Mail is not a shortcut. The postal channel has its own rule and its own entry process, and lost its exemption a month after the other modes.
The timeline, newest first
24 July 2026 · in force
Mail loses de minimis too, and gets a new entry process
The parallel rule for the international postal network took effect: the $800 exemption is suspended indefinitely for mail, and CBP established a new postal entry process for merchandise valued at $2,500 or less. It also ended the interim postal duty regime that EO 14324 and EO 14388 had set. Bona fide gifts and personal articles accompanying travellers are not affected by the rulemaking.
CBP interim final rule, effective 24 July 2026. 91 FR 37801
8 July 2026 · in force
CBP starts collecting court-ordered IEEPA refund claims
CBP published the information collection for court-ordered refunds of duties collected under IEEPA, which is the paperwork trail behind the February decision. If you paid those duties, the refund runs through this process and your broker or importer of record holds the entry records it needs.
CBP information collection, Court-Ordered Refunds Under IEEPA Worksheet. 91 FR 42207
8 July 2026 · in force
CPSC certificates of compliance move to electronic filing
The Consumer Product Safety Commission's Certificates of Compliance rule took effect, requiring certificate data to be filed electronically at entry for the products it covers. If you import children's products, toys or other CPSC-regulated goods, this is filed with the entry rather than kept in a drawer.
CPSC final rule, effective 8 July 2026. 90 FR 180090 FR 45917 (correction)
24 June 2026 · in force
De minimis suspended indefinitely for air, ocean and truck
CBP's interim final rule made the suspension indefinite for everything arriving other than by international mail. In CBP's words, every entry of merchandise valued at $800 or less “must utilize formal or informal entry procedures”. There is no value floor below which a commercial import skips customs any more.
CBP interim final rule, effective on publication. 91 FR 37789
25 February 2026
The de minimis suspension continues
Executive Order 14388 continued the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries and revised the interim postal duty rates set by EO 14324, tying them to whichever came first: the surcharge expiring, or CBP's new postal entry process starting.
Executive Order 14388 (corrected 9 April 2026). 91 FR 9433 (EO 14388)91 FR 17839 (correction)
24 February 2026
A 10 percent temporary import surcharge, for 150 days
Proclamation 11012 of 20 February 2026 invoked section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2132) and imposed a temporary import surcharge of 10 percent ad valorem for a period of 150 days, effective 24 February 2026. Section 122 caps such a surcharge at 15 percent and at 150 days unless Congress extends it by Act, so it is time limited by statute rather than by policy.
Proclamation 11012, section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. 91 FR 9339
20 February 2026
Supreme Court: IEEPA does not authorise tariffs
In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump the Court held, in the words of its own opinion summary, that “The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 91 Stat. 1626, does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.” The tariffs imposed under that act therefore lost their legal basis, which is what set off both the refund process and the replacement surcharge below.
Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287, 607 U.S. 229. Slip opinionOpinions list
29 August 2025
Duty-free de minimis suspended for every country
Executive Order 14324 suspended duty-free de minimis treatment worldwide, not just for China, and set an interim duty process for goods arriving through the international postal network.
Executive Order 14324, implemented by CBP notice effective 29 August 2025. 90 FR 37775 (EO 14324)90 FR 42418 (implementation)
2 May 2025
De minimis withdrawn for goods of China and Hong Kong
Low-value shipments of Chinese and Hong Kong origin stopped entering duty free under the $800 administrative exemption. For sellers used to shipping parcels direct to US buyers, this is the change that started everything below.
CBP notice of implementation, effective 2 May 2025. 90 FR 17608
How to check any of this yourself
The Federal Register has a free API, and it is the fastest way to confirm a rule is still the current one. To pull the de minimis documents, including anything published after this page was written:
curl "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json?per_page=10&order=newest\
&conditions[term]=de+minimis+duty-free+treatment\
&fields[]=title&fields[]=citation&fields[]=effective_on&fields[]=html_url"Every citation on this page came out of that endpoint or the Supreme Court's own opinions list, and was checked on September 15, 2026. If you find a document that changes one of these rows, tell us and we will correct it: hello@plainfreight.com
Cite this page
Free to quote with a link back. A suggested sentence:
The United States suspended the $800 de minimis exemption indefinitely for all non-postal modes on 24 June 2026 (91 FR 37789) and for international mail on 24 July 2026 (91 FR 37801), so every commercial import now requires a formal or informal customs entry regardless of value.
Canonical URL: https://plainfreight.com/data/us-import-rules-timeline
This is a reference summary written by a freight forwarder, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the rule itself or for your customs broker. Where our wording and the Federal Register disagree, the Federal Register is right.
Related
Importing after de minimis ›US China tariffs ›CPSC eFiling ›Price index ›