US De Minimis Withdrawal and what it means for your business.

On July 30^th The White House released a Presidential Executive Order announcing the withdrawal of the US duty De Minimis for ecommerce goods arriving at the US border with effect from August 29^th 2025.

From this date all ecommerce parcels for US delivery will incur import duty, not just those which previously exceeded the De Minimis limit of $800.

All orders will incur duty regardless of how they enter the US.

For OCS US Priority and OCS US Standard Customs clearance into the US is commercial. Duty will be incurred according to the prevailing tariffs which are based on commodity country of origin. Please remember that tariffs “stack” so are the total of the commodity tariff, any historical additional tariffs include section 301, plus the new reciprocal “IEEPA” tariff.

An example for a woman’s cotton dress of Chinese or Hong Kong origin is:

• Commodity rate:-      11.5%

• Section 301 (2024):-   7.5%

• Section 301 (2025):-  10.0%

• Reciprocal (IEEPA):-   20.0%

• Total duty rate to be assessed on the value of this example is 49%.

The OCS Hybrid Postal Tracked US Service crosses the US border using a postal clearance mechanism. Processes for this are still being confirmed with US Customs. It’s possible a simplified duty calculation will be available for an interim period, or that a fixed fee per parcel will be applied. As soon as clarification is received from US Customs and the US Postal Service we will provide an update.

As a US specialist, OCS has robust and long-established processes in place to provide seamless delivery for dutiable orders. Duty can be paid by us on your behalf, for weekly recharge in US$.

For volume shippers to the US we can also support a B2B2C formal entry process based on provision of a standard dataset. B2B2C schemes require trade advice from a US Customs Attorney or trade specialist to ensure their suitability and CBP compliance.

Will OCS prices change? We are still assessing the impact of the withdrawal of the de minimis on our own costs. With a more complex Customs clearance process, combined with the recharge of duty, our cost of service provision will increase. If a price change is needed, we will provide suitable notice and mitigate as best we can.

We will make a handling fee for paying duty on your behalf. We are analysing the cost of additional funding and administration and will let you know soon. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to charge duty to consignees directly on a DDP basis.

We are here to provide support through this period of substantial change. We will provide further updates in the coming days as more details are clarified, but in the meantime, we recommend you review your current US trade to anticipate future duty levels and the commercial impact on your business and American customers.