All de minimis exemption exports of goods (valued under $800) to the US will end today (29 August), including from the UK.

The move has already started causing disruption to postal services.

Postal services, including the UK’s Royal Mail and Germany’s DHL said they would suspend deliveries until they had proper systems in place to deal with the new rules, according to the BBC.

A new interim six-month scheme applies only to goods shipped via US Postal Services (USPS) and will remain in effect until February 2026. However, in most cases, the flat per-item tariff under this scheme will be higher than the standard ad valorem tariff and associated clearance charges. As a result, companies will generally find it more efficient to ship Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) via a fast parcel service to the US.

No goods valued under $800 will enter the US duty-free, regardless of whether they originate from the UK, EU, or any other country.

The UKFT has warned the UK government that this change will have important ramifications for British businesses selling both B2C and B2B to the US as the US de minimis scheme was widely used by British fashion and textile companies.

Goods will attract US import duties based on the country’s standard ad valorem tariff rate, based on the standard Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate for the product, plus any additional country-specific/reciprocal tariffs.

The UKFT said in an update it had warned its members of this for some time and says US Customs arrangements and tariffs are subject to change without notice, so members are advised to check the applicable US duty rates for the goods they intend to ship as close to the shipping date as possible. US Customs may also require additional documentation to verify the origin of goods.

And the UKFT warns the US may add  “secondary sanctions”. Where these exist, these are “stackable”, meaning that US Customs will add these to the other duties at the point of entry.