Executive Order 14324 suspended the de minimis exemption for all countries on August 29, 2025, and CBP made the suspension indefinite by interim final rule on June 24, 2026, writing it into 19 CFR 10.151 for non-postal shipments and 19 CFR 145.31 for mail. Every low-value commercial shipment now needs a formal or informal entry in ACE. Shipments valued at $2,500 or less can use an informal entry, and CBP points filers at Entry Type 11 as the main informal method. Every entry line needs a 10-digit HTSUS code, and the duties that apply include Section 301 and Section 232 where the product is covered. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act repeals the statutory exemption outright on July 1, 2027, so the $800 duty-free entry is not coming back.
What actually changed, in date order
The exemption died in stages, and the dates matter because brokers still quote the old rule. China and Hong Kong lost de minimis on May 2, 2025. The all-country suspension followed on August 29, 2025. CBP then published two interim final rules on June 24, 2026, at 91 FR 37789 and 91 FR 37801, making the suspension indefinite and closing the postal route with a new postal informal entry process effective July 24, 2026. The Court of International Trade upheld the suspension on August 13, 2026, in Axle of Dearborn v. Department of Commerce, reasoning that removing a duty-free privilege imposes no new duty. The last date on the calendar is July 1, 2027, when the statute itself is repealed.
Two narrow exemptions survive, and neither helps a commercial importer. Bona fide gifts valued at $100 or less, and personal articles of $200 or less accompanying a traveler, are untouched by the June 2026 rules. Everything a store ships to a customer is commercial, so plan around entry, not around an exemption that no longer exists for your goods.
Related reading on this site: LandedWatch and LandedWatch cover the neighbouring problems in more depth.
Entry Type 11 is the workhorse now
Informal entry survives as the main path for shipments not exceeding $2,500 in value, and Entry Type 11 is the method CBP names for it. The old Type 86 test entry and release from manifest are gone. Both formal and informal entries are filed electronically in ACE, and CBP does not accept paper informal entries for these shipments. The practical change for a DTC brand is that every parcel is now its own entry, with its own classification decision, where a manifest line used to clear hundreds at once.
The classification burden is the part teams underestimate. A shipment that cleared off a manifest needed no HTS code at all. Now each line needs a 10-digit code, and the code decides the duty stack: the MFN base rate plus Section 301 plus Section 232 plus any AD/CVD, plus the merchandise processing fee. A wrong code is no longer a paperwork annoyance. It is the difference between the right duty and an underpayment that CBP can pursue after liquidation.
Re-cost every SKU that moved under Section 321
Any SKU that used to ride in duty-free under $800 needs a new landed cost built from the full stack, and the number to use is the per-unit duty at the current code, not the blended rate the old model assumed. Do this SKU by SKU, because the stack differs by product: a textile at a 16 percent MFN rate with a 7.5 percent Section 301 list duty lands very differently from an electronics item with a zero base rate and a 25 percent Section 232 line.
Settle the importer of record question before the next shipment moves. A foreign seller shipping direct to US customers can make entry, but it needs a CBP-assigned identity and a bond, and someone has to hold those. If your supplier will not act as importer of record, you are, and the entry, the classification, and the duty are yours to file and pay.
Frequently asked questions
Can any commercial shipment still enter duty-free under $800?
No. The exemption is suspended for every country, every mode of transport, and every value. CBP requires a formal or informal entry for each shipment, and the statutory basis for the exemption is repealed effective July 1, 2027.
What is Entry Type 11?
Entry Type 11 is the informal entry method CBP points low-value shipments toward after the de minimis suspension. It covers shipments valued at $2,500 or less, is filed electronically in ACE, and requires a 10-digit HTSUS code on every line.
Do postal shipments follow the same process?
Mail follows its own process. Since July 24, 2026, mail shipments use CBP's new postal informal entry process, where the filer must be the owner, purchaser, or a licensed customs broker, hold a bond, and submit a monthly data set with payment.
When does de minimis come back?
It does not. The suspension runs until the statutory repeal takes effect on July 1, 2027, and after that date there is no exemption left to restore. Any plan that assumes duty-free entry under $800 is planning against the law as written.