President Trump signed an Executive Order on July 30th that effectively ends the de minimis exemption for commercial shipments, effective August 29th. Thus, “imported goods sent through means other than the international postal network that are valued at or under $800 and that would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption will be subject to all applicable duties,” the Executive Order said.

Here are additional details in the Executive Order regarding de minimis:

For goods shipped through the international postal system, packages will instead be assessed on duties according to one of the following methodologies:

• Ad valorem duty: A duty equal to the effective tariff rate imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that is applicable to the country of origin of the product. This duty shall be assessed on the value of each package.
• Specific duty: A duty ranging from $80 per item to $200 per item, depending on the effective IEEPA tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product. The specific duty methodology will be available for six (6) months, after which all applicable shipments must comply with the ad valorem duty methodology. 
• Longstanding exemptions under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(A) and (B) remain in place, which means that American travelers can still bring back up to $200 in personal items and individuals can continue to receive bona fide gifts valued at $100 or less duty-free.

“President Trump is putting an end to the proliferation of shippers worldwide that, among other things, deceptively exploit the de minimis privilege in an effort to evade duties, inspection, and US law,” the Executive Order said.

You can read the entire Executive Order here.

Note that RIM will continue to monitor the Federal Register notice and any Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance issued on this action and will advise as more information is made available. Please reach out to your RIM representative if you have any further questions.