On Friday 29 August 2025 US President Donald Trump's tariffs & fees applying to de minimis (low cost) goods valued up to US $800 entering American territory by way of a postal service came into effect. From that day all goods entering the country by mail became subject to a charge reflecting the July-August 2025 US trade tariffs imposed on the specific country of origin/sale of these low cost goods.
Before 29 August no tariff applied to low cost goods under an international de minimis rule within trade agreements between countries. The cut-off amount for tariff exemption varies between trade agreements.
Between 1 October 2024 and 30 June 2025 a total of 945.3 million such mailed items from all points of the globe arrived in the U.S. having been mailed by small businesses advertising directly on the Internet or operating on platforms such as Etsy or eBay, as well as sent as gifts mailed by individuals living abroad to friends or family living in America.
During those nine months the de minimis value of such goods was calculated to total US $49.8 billion, which roughly averages out at an estimated value of US$52.68 per padded envelope/package.
Like most changes to international trade with the U.S. it came via a presidential order containing more rhetorical flourish than established fact or hard detail. This one titled "SUSPENDING DUTY-FREE DE MINIMIS TREATMENT FOR ALL COUNTRIES" dated 30 June 2025.
Given President Trump appears to believe that these new charges/fees on low cost goods imported by mail into America should be borne by the seller not the importer and because of the uncertainty concerning the point along international mail routes at which new charges/fees become payable and by whom, Australia along with at least 32 other countries has suspended all package mail into the U.S., with Australia only continuing the delivery of letters, documents and gifts worth less than $150.
BACKGROUND
CNBC, 28 August 2025, excerpts:
The de minimis exemption lets U.S. consumers import $800 worth of goods free of tariffs, duties and fees. The rule makes it cheaper for consumers who buy products directly from international sellers.
The volume of these low-value shipments has swelled amid the rise of e-commerce, experts said.
In 2024, the U.S. received about 1.4 billion de minimis shipments, more than double the 637 million in 2020, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
The average de minimis shipment was about $48 in 2024, according to CBP data....
All shipments — including beauty products from Korea, leather shoes from Italy, kitchen knives from Japan — will be subject to additional fees and taxes, such as tariffs that the Trump administration has levied on most U.S. trading partners....
“For the consumer, it can be quite a big price increase,” said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, whose research specializes in trade with China and global supply chains.
The actual price increase for consumers will depend on many factors such as country-specific tariff rates, duties the U.S. places on goods and manufacturing materials, and how businesses adjust pricing, economists said.
Here’s how the end of de minimis would impact some specific consumer goods, according to a FlavorCloudanalysis:
$30 slippers (lightweight, premium cotton) from China would cost about $45, a 51% increase;
$37 nutritional supplements (plant-based, performance-formulated) from Canada would cost about $60, up 60%;
A $240 chef’s knife (with wooden handle and white steel) from Japan would cost about $298, up 24%.
Pablo Fajgelbaum, an economics professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and Amit Khandelwal, an economics professor at Yale University, write that de minimis is a “pro-poor trade policy.”...
ABCNews, 29 August 2025, excerpt:
Why Australia Post halted most US shipping
Australia Post's suspension of most shipments to the US follows the Trump administration axing the "deminimis" exemption.
Until now, parcels of goods worth less than $US800 ($1,230) were not taxed when they arrived in the US — an exemption relied upon by many Australian retailers to send items to the US duty-free.
This exemption was axed for China already in 2025, throwing retailers including Shein and Temu off guard.
Australia Post is taking the extraordinary step of immediately suspending many forms of shipping to the United States.
Originally, this exemption was not supposed to end for the rest of the world until 2027. Yet last month, the deadline was brought forward to August 29, 2025.
"Until such time as the actual decision was going to be enforced, we ran the risk of actually going early and then the US government changing its mind again, which it has done before," Mr Graham told ABC News.
"We couldn't give [our customers] concrete advice."
"It's been very difficult for our team members, but most importantly, difficult for our customers.
"Because there has been a degree of uncertainty around the whole tariff landscape for the US Is it on? Is it not on?
"Originally, we were told that the de minimis would not be removed until 2027 and then the system was brought rapidly forward, but we have to deal with that.
"We have to roll with those punches."
TheWashington Post, 23 August 2025, excepts:
Postal operators in several countries have announced they will suspend certain deliveries to the United States, ahead of an end to a long-standing tariff exemption for packages worth $800 or less.
President Donald Trump has framed the decision as part of a fight against illegal drugs. But mail companies abroad are halting some of their services to the U.S., saying that many aspects of the new rules remain unclear.
Here's what to know.
The facts
Previously, most imported goods with a value of $800 or less were exempt from tariffs. That rule, known as the de minimis exemption, is set to end on Friday — though letters or personal gifts worth less than $100 won't be affected, postal operators said.
A number of national mail companies from countries such as France, Germany, the U.K and India have responded by temporarily suspending some mail services to the U.S.
For consumers, this could mean delays in receiving packages — which may now also incur tariffs of $80 or more.....
What will it mean for consumers?
The extra charges on a package will depend on the methodology used to calculate it, according to the executive order. The duty rate will either match the level of tariff the U.S. has imposed on the country of origin, or a specific duty based on the following:
For countries with a tariff rate of 15 percent or less, such as Britain, each package will incur an additional charge of $80.
Parcels originating from countries with U.S. tariffs of between 16 and 25 percent will incur an additional $160.
Countries with a tariff rate of more than 25 percent will face an extra $200.
Letters, documents and gifts under $100 are exempt — though DHL said in a statement that any parcel declared as a gift "will be subject to even stricter controls than before to prevent the misuse of private gift shipments for sending commercial goods."
UPDATE
See: V.O.S. Selections Inc et al v Donald J Trump et al
1. https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions-orders/25-1812.OPINION.8-29-2025_2566151.pdf and
2. https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions-orders/25-1812.ORDER.8-29-2025_2566157.pdf
29.08.25 in V.O.S. Selections et al v Trump et al US Federal Court of Appeals handed down decision denying validity of all 5 Trump presidential orders which created US trade tariffs in 2025 to date. Because Trump is filing in the US Supreme Court tariffs remain in place for now. pic.twitter.com/XDeCCeIEVD
— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) August 30, 2025
Donald J Trump braying into a legal headwind pic.twitter.com/ROmA7rJvwW
— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) August 30, 2025
