The end of de minimis: what changes for US resellers?

Every shipment from China to the US now pays duties and fees, whatever its value: the de minimis exemption is suspended indefinitely, by mail since July 24, 2026, and by every other mode since June 24, 2026. A small parcel per sale pays its own fees each time, so one batch shipped together costs less. Rabbit buys on 1688 and counts US duties in your estimated profit.

By Hussayn Delli, founder of Rabbit · Updated November 9, 2026.

The steps to resell in the US, and the paperwork some products need: how to resell products from China in the US. This page is about one change, and what it does to the way you ship.

What was de minimis, and what ended?

De minimis let a shipment worth $800 or less, imported by one person on one day, enter the US without duties. It no longer does. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) suspended it indefinitely in two rules published on June 24, 2026:

• For every mode except mail (express, air cargo, sea): in force since June 24, 2026.
• For mail: in force since July 24, 2026, with a new informal entry for postal parcels.

Goods from China had already lost it on May 2, 2025, and goods from every country on August 29, 2025. The 2026 rules write the suspension into CBP’s regulations, with no end date.

What does every shipment from China pay now?

Whatever its value, even a few dollars, each shipment pays:

• The base duty of the product’s code in the US tariff schedule (its HTS code). For some products it is zero.
• The older Section 301 duties on Chinese goods, which apply to many HTS codes, not all. The US kept them in place on October 7, 2026.
• An additional Section 301 duty on every product of China, on top of the base duty, since July 24, 2026.
• A CBP fee per shipment, which depends on how it travels: $7.61 for a dutiable mail parcel; for an express parcel, $2.77 for the informal entry plus $1.38 per waybill; $2.77 for an air cargo batch under the formal entry limit. These amounts apply since October 1, 2026.

For mail, the rule says the filer pays the duties, and may pass them on to the importer or the supplier. Either way, the cost ends up in the price of your product.

The cost on a real example

Take 100 toys, each worth $20.00 at customs (the goods alone, without international shipping). A toy (HTS 9503.00.00) has no base duty and no older Section 301 duty, so it pays the additional duty on Chinese goods, plus the fee of its shipment. The amounts below come from Rabbit’s code.

The duties are the same: they follow the value. The fees are not: they follow the number of shipments. Shipping the 100 toys one by one by mail costs $1,011.00 at customs; shipping them together costs $252.77. Rabbit computed these amounts from its table of US duties, checked on October 31, 2026. Shipping itself is not in them.

Why does a batch make more sense than one parcel per sale?

• Every parcel pays. Under de minimis, a parcel worth $800 or less, sent from China straight to your customer, entered without duties. Now each one pays its duties and its own fee.
• The fee is per shipment, not per piece. On a cheap product, a mail fee of $7.61 can cost more than the duties themselves, as in the example above.
• One batch pays the fee once. Grouping your pieces into one shipment, then selling from your stock in the US, spreads one fee over every piece.

The retail parcel is still possible: it is simply no longer the cheap way in. To test a product, a sample still makes sense; to sell it, a batch does: test, batch, brand. For a US account today, an order of more than 3 pieces can’t be paid in dollars yet: its delivery is paid at the weighing, and that payment isn’t open in dollars. You can order up to 3 pieces, delivery included.

When does a shipment need a formal entry?

Above $2,500.00 of value, a shipment needs a formal entry. It then pays a merchandise processing fee calculated on its value, with a minimum of $34.58 and a maximum of $670.86. By sea, a harbor maintenance fee is added, also calculated on the value. CBP can also require a formal entry for any mail shipment, whatever its value, and a rule published on October 22, 2026 sets a date: from January 20, 2027, a mail parcel subject to the duties of chapter 99 of the tariff schedule, which every product of China now pays, needs a formal entry. What a formal entry asks of you: do you need a customs broker?

What doesn’t Rabbit’s calculation count?

• Antidumping and countervailing duties, set product by product and maker by maker.
• Section 232 duties (steel, aluminum, semiconductors and others).
• The fees of the carrier or of a customs broker: no public source sets them.

When a product’s duty depends on details Rabbit doesn’t know, Rabbit doesn’t price it. A textile shoe is one: its duty depends on its price per pair and its sole. When a product type covers several HTS codes, Rabbit counts the most expensive one.

How does Rabbit count US duties before you order?

For a US account, the estimated profit Rabbit shows on a product already subtracts US import duties, from the same table as the example above. The table is dated, and it raises an alarm when it is more than 30 days old: these duties changed several times in 2026. Check the date of any figure you read, including the ones on this page.

For your exact situation: your accountant or a customs broker.