Some Online Shopping Will Get Much Costlier After Key Tariff Loophole Ends

Topline

A tariff exemption on low-value shipments from abroad ended after midnight on Friday, prompting e-commerce platforms like eBay and Etsy and shipping services like DHL and UPS to lay out new guidelines for U.S. online shoppers who are likely to face disruptions and increased prices.

Ebay has said U.S. buyers will be responsible for additional import duties on all purchases.

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Key Facts

The de minimis rule, which exempted packages valued under $800 from duties and tariffs, ended for all global shipments entering the U.S. on Friday at 12:01 a.m. ET, months after the Trump administration removed the exemption on such imports from China and Hong Kong.

For the next six months, online buyers importing items from abroad will either have to pay a flat fee or the assigned tariff rate of the country of origin of their purchase for the item to pass through customs ahead of delivery.

Items arriving from countries with a tariff rate of less than 16% will incur a $80 flat fee per item; this fee increases to $160 and $200 per item for countries with rates between 16-25% and more than 25%, respectively.

The Trump administration’s move to end the de minimis exemption has already had an impact, with the postal services of dozens of countries announcing a halt in package shipments to the U.S. until there is more clarity on how tariff payments will be handled.

How Will New Duties Impact Ebay Shipments?

Several major online shopping platforms like eBay, Etsy and Shopify have outlined guidelines for both U.S. buyers and foreign sellers shipping their products to the U.S. In an update on its website, eBay wrote: “US buyers will be responsible for additional duties on all orders. They may need to provide personal information to facilitate customs clearance of their orders.” The online marketplace also warned that shipments from abroad may face delays due to U.S. customs processing. eBay also said it is taking steps to protect sellers on the platform, allowing them to adjust late shipment rates and potentially removing negative or neutral buyer feedback “related to tariffs.”

How Are Other E-Commerce Platforms Responding?

Etsy, which is primarily focused on selling craft items, has also issued an update for sellers on the platform with advice on how to handle shipments and adjust prices to reflect tariff costs. Etsy is urging its sellers to use carriers that allow them to pre-pay tariffs and duties at the time of shipping. The website notes that this “eliminates the risk of your buyer refusing to pay a tariff after their item has already made the journey to its destination.” Like with eBay, the cost of the tariffs will be passed down to the buyer, with he platform advising sellers who pre-pay import duties and tariffs to “incorporate those additional fees into your prices.” The post adds: “If you sell only into the US, it may make sense to update your listing prices to account for tariffs.” Japanese shopping platform Rakuten informed buyers that goods arriving to the U.S. on or after August 29, 2025, are likely to face customs duties. The platform warned, “Depending on the shipping carrier, ‘prepaid duty’…may become mandatory, potentially limiting the shipping methods available in the future.”

What Have Shipping Carriers Said?

On its questions and answers page for tariffs, UPS says starting Friday, all shipments entering the U.S. “will need to go through U.S. Customs Border Protection and could be subject to duties, taxes and brokerage fees.” The company then notes: “Typically, these costs are the responsibility of the person receiving the shipment.” In an update, FedEx said it is continuing to accept U.S.-bound packages from countries whose postal services have halted such shipments and either the sender, the recipient or a third party can be designated as responsible for paying any duties and taxes at the time of purchasing the shipping label. When no party is specified on the label, “the recipient will default as the party responsible for paying duties and taxes.”

How Has The De Minimis Change Impacted Purchases From China?

While shipments from the rest of the world will be affected starting Friday, the de minimis change on imports from China and Hong Kong took effect in May. The most visible impact of this has been felt on the pricing of goods on e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu. Just before the change went into effect, Shein raised prices on some goods as high as 377%. A report by Reuters in July found that the checkout price of a sample 10-item online shopping cart increased from $31 on April 24 to $69 on July 22, a more than two-fold rise.

Big Number

1.36 billion. That is the total number of de minimis shipments processed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2024, the agency reported in January. This was a nearly tenfold increase from 2015, when the agency handled only 139 million such shipments. A study commissioned by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in 2023 found nearly half of all de minimis shipments entering the U.S. originated from China. The U.S. International Trade Commission had estimated that in FY 2022, about 83% of total U.S. e-commerce imports were exempt from duties under the de minimis rule.