Overview

• At 12:01 a.m. local time on August 29, the long-standing duty-free threshold for imports under $800 ended, with only bona fide private gifts under $100 still exempt.
• Parcels now face standard tariffs by origin, with a minimum of about 10%, 15% on goods from the European Union, and rates reaching up to 50% for some countries such as India and Brazil.
• The UN postal agency said 25 countries have suspended parcel deliveries to the United States due to uncertainty over new procedures, and France’s La Poste cited insufficient technical guidance from U.S. customs.
• Rules require carriers or authorized parties to collect duties in advance from shippers and remit them to U.S. authorities, a shift that postal operators say they were given too little time to implement.
• CBP reported that small parcels accounted for 98% of narcotics, 97% of counterfeits, and 70% of harmful health products seized in 2024, while small businesses warned new costs could threaten thin margins.