Shipping to US (from UK or anywhere else) after 29 August...?

[JonGZG]

As the previous thread on this topic has now been locked to prevent it descending into a political squabble, I just wondered if anyone else had managed to find out any further information on the removal of the De Minimis exemption for small shipments to the US, effective from the 29th August?

I can find very little info (maybe my Google-Fu is just weak today...?), and nothing on how the USPS is going to handle the situation - all I've been able to find is that they (the Postal Services) appear to have two options for collecting the money - one bad, the other worse - but nothing on which one they are going to apply.

Jon (GZG)

[Tom Dulski]

 I'm curious about this myself but have not heard anything. Guess we will have to grin and bear it.

[HerbertTarkel]

So, I just sold a bunch of guitar pedals - and most ended up going to the US. I was curious what would happen. They all went through, cleared by customs, no fees. Average price of a pedal around $150-200. Seems the postal service isn’t being fussy?

All items entered the US after 1 August.

[JonGZG]

So, I just sold a bunch of guitar pedals - and most ended up going to the US. I was curious what would happen. They all went through, cleared by customs, no fees. Average price of a pedal around $150-200. Seems the postal service isn’t being fussy?

All items entered the US after 1 August.

The deadline is the 29th August, not the 1st.... anything arriving in the US before the 29th should be fine (old rules apply), anything arriving AFTER the 29th will have the new rules applied... problem is, I can't find out anywhere what the new rules are going to be... 

Jon (GZG)

EDIT: Sorry, just noticed that you are in Canada, so you might have been expecting the items to have been stopped and charged anyway as the De Minimis exemption from Canada (and Mexico) was suspended back in February - although only on "certain items" according to one of the few articles I found on the subject. Good to know that yours all got through without problems!

[JonGZG]

Some of the only relevant stuff I've read so far is this:

"
Executive orders signed in February 2025 suspended the use of de minimis on certain imports from Canada and Mexico and imports of all goods of Chinese origin.

Now,  an Executive Order dated 30 July, suspends this duty-free de minimis treatment on all goods imported into the US regardless of origin, effective from 29 August 2025.

The order states that the de minimis exemption will no longer apply ‘regardless of value, country of origin, mode of transportation or method of entry’ meaning all shipments will be subject to ‘all applicable duties, taxes, fees, exactions and charges’.

Entry for all shipments that previously qualified for the de minimis exemption will need to be filed using the appropriate full declaration entry type into the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the US Electronic Customs Declaration System. This will require additional data elements to be declared to US Customs over and above what users of ‘de minimis’ have been used to if they used the simplified customs labels on parcels.

Separate arrangements will be put in place for shipments sent through the international postal network until such time as the US Customs and Border Protection agency establishes a new entry process. "


It is that last line that is utterly vague, but also very important: what will these "separate arrangements" be....?
Jon (GZG)

[Rick]

Well you're assuming anyone in charge over there actually knows what the rules are going to be? Or whether they'll use a flat fee or percentage system (they appear to have an option for both), or just use whatever makes the most money. I think there is still a legal challenge going through the US courts and trade agreements to be finalised, which could give some countries a better deal here and there (except for the UK who's moron-in-charge appears incapable of sorting anything out).
One complaint that the US customs had was that the old de minimis rules allowed for an extremely vague list of contents so they'll likely want a very detailed list (among other things).
You don't think the US saw the EU 'resonsible person' rules and thought it was a great idea, do you?

[JonGZG]

So, given that (as usual) no-one seems to know what the heck is going on, what are other manufacturers/sellers thinking of doing about this - just waiting to see what happens...?

Are people still shipping to the US and hoping for the best? 

Jon.

[JonGZG]

and locked in 5, 4, 3...

Precisely what I was trying to AVOID in starting this new thread on the topic!

Looking to discuss the ramifications of the new rules (once anyone can actually find out what they are, of course) to both US customers and non-US suppliers....

Jon.

[anevilgiraffe]

ok... so where the hell is my post? I mean come on... I was playfully pointing out that it was getting political again and I get nuked?

[AKULA]

ok... so where the hell is my post? I mean come on... I was playfully pointing out that it was getting political again and I get nuked?

[anevilgiraffe]

 

[Aaron]

Without getting political (if that is possible these days), this flurry of new laws and executive orders has been accompanied with large-scale downsizing and even wholesale elimination of entire offices of government here. That means in some instances there are only a handful of staff left to figure out how to implement these orders. All I can say is to expect confusion and inconsistency. 

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

and expect a lot of mind changing.  The implantation of tariffs on Chinese imports has been postponed for yet another 90 days.  Who knows how Europe and the UK will be affected in 90 days.

I think the best hope for small miniatures makers is to find transatlantic partners to make licensed work within the market they sell to.  It will take time to establish, but i don’t see any hope of the ending of trade chaos for 3 years.

[OSHIROmodels]

“Important information about changes to the export of goods to the USA from the UK.


As you may be aware, on 30 July, the United States Government announced an Executive Order which outlines changes to customs obligations and processes for goods being imported into the USA.
These changes affect all customers and carriers who export goods to the USA and are expected to become effective on 29 August 2025.
Key points of the US Executive Order
• Currently, low-value goods and gifts can enter the USA from other countries ‘duty-free’ because of a ‘de minimis’ duties threshold of US$800. The changes mean goods entering the USA from any country, from 29 August 2025 will be subject to tariffs (duties) payable to US customs.
• For goods shipped via the international postal system, the executive order indicates customs duties will be calculated using the value of the item and the prevailing country-based tariff for the item’s country of origin (origin of manufacture, not origin of shipment).
• The customs duties on items need to be paid to US Customs before those items enter the USA. US authorities will not accept items without duties paid on them.
What does this mean for UK customers exporting goods to the USA?
If you only send personal correspondence to the USA, you are not affected by these changes and can continue to send these items to the USA, without a customs declaration.
If you ship goods to the USA and currently complete a customs declaration, we understand the following changes will apply on 29 August 2025:
• The duty-free threshold (‘de minimis’) of $800 will be removed and replaced by tariffs (duties).
• Senders in the UK will have to calculate, collect (or account for) duties at the point of sale. The duties are payable to US Customs in advance of items entering the USA.
• We understand required duties for UK postal shipments will be based on an item’s value and the country-based tariff (country of manufacture rather than country
of shipping).
What can customers do now to prepare for these changes?
From 29 August customs duties need to be paid for export items travelling to the USA. To continue to export goods to the USA, you will need to:
• Consider how to calculate the duty/duties payable on each item. You may want to consider doing this by integrating a ‘landed cost calculator’ at your online checkout to calculate ‘landed cost’ (taxes and duties). Landed cost calculators can also collect those taxes and duties.
• Decide how you will account for these duties with your customers (e.g. you can choose to pass the cost of duties on to your customers or absorb it).
• Capture essential electronic product data at item level (much of which is already a requirement) including:
o Country of Origin
o Value of goods/product costs
o HS codes
How will Royal Mail support customers with these changes?
Royal Mail is working closely with US authorities and international partners to manage the impact of these changes which will affect everyone who sends goods to the USA.
• To enable you to continue to export goods to the USA, Royal Mail will introduce a PDDP (Postal Delivered Duties Paid) service for account customers to use when exporting to the USA.
• This is an extension of Royal Mail PDDP services, which are currently in use to some EU destinations which will allow continued ‘postal clearance’ into the USA with the same labelling, tracking and customer notifications. This will replace existing services and support compliance with the new requirements.
• Our shipping platforms will be updated to capture necessary data to comply with the new requirements (much of which you already provide).
• We will make the codes for the replacement USA PDDP service available to US export customer account/s before the customs changes come into effect. Please see the table below for further information:
Current Royal Mail US export service
(parcel or large letter format)  USA PDDP service code PDDP weight limit
Standard/Untracked  DE6 Up to 2kg
Tracked  MPR Up to 30kg
Tracked Heavier MPR Up to 30kg
Tracked & Signed MTV Up to 2kg/5kg printed papers
To find out more information
Customers can continue to use existing Royal Mail and Parcelforce services to the USA at the moment as these changes are due to take effect from 29 August 2025.
For more information about getting ready for these changes, please visit royalmail.com/usabusinessupdates where we’ll provide further information to help customers navigate these changes in shipping goods to the USA.
Yours sincerely,
 
Michael Irwin
Director of Export
Royal Mail & Parcelforce”

[Westfalia Chris]

ok... so where the hell is my post? I mean come on... I was playfully pointing out that it was getting political again and I get nuked?

I took out the posts before that which were detouring, and, since there was no urgent reason to lock it after that, included your countdown. 

I would really appreciate if we could handle this without all the tiresome politicking.