But with the rise of retailers like Chinese Temu and Shein after the pandemic, shipments under $800 have exploded. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that de minimis shipments jumped from about 635 million in 2020 to over 1.3 billion in 2024. The Trump administration ended the exception for China and Hong Kong in May, and last month, Trump signed a new executive order to include the rest of the world starting Friday.

European shipping companies agree they need more time — and more information — before they can comply. What does this mean for you? If you’re expecting a package from Europe, expect a delay.

Countries received details from the U.S. government in mid-August. PostEurop, an association that represents 53 European postal operators, said, “Select technical details were only released on Aug. 15, leaving an extremely short time frame to prepare.” The group warned that issues remain unresolved, including how duties will be collected, what data needs to be supplied and how the system will link with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In Germany, Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany said that they were temporarily suspending parcels to the U.S. beginning last Saturday, although shipments via DHL Express would not be affected. Belgium’s postal service, bpost, published a helpful FAQ, which shed further light on the situation.

• • The sender must prepay import duties before the shipment leaves for the U.S. The recipient will not pay anything at delivery.
  • If duties are not prepaid, the parcel will not be accepted for transport.
  • Shipments already on their way that arrive before Friday will still qualify under the old rules — no duties for parcels valued under $800. Anything arriving later will be returned to the sender.

Here’s where things get tricky. The tariffs are not simply a flat percentage of the purchase price. Instead, for commercial packages, the duty will match the tariff the U.S. applies to the country of origin (not the country from where it’s sold), while personal shipments will fall into a flat-fee bracket. For countries with a tariff rate of 15% or less, such as Britain, each package will incur an additional charge of $80. Shipments originating from countries with U.S. tariffs of between 16% and 25% will incur a fee of $160. Countries with a tariff rate of more than 25% will face an extra $200.

Before you buy, make sure you know the country of origin for your item, which should be included in the item description. When you see that a $300 dress from Harrod’s in London that was made in China will cost you an extra $200, you may decide to buy elsewhere. If your order includes multiple countries of origin, the highest applicable rate is used.

The elimination of the de minimis exclusion is essentially a penalty for U.S. consumers who buy outside the U.S. Retailers have anticipated this shift for some time and established warehouses here to minimize both delivery times and costs. A package coming directly from China could take three to four weeks by ocean freight before even clearing customs, while goods already warehoused in the U.S. can be delivered within days. Always opt for the U.S. website when available on an international site.

Still, tariffs will raise prices overall, even for items stocked in U.S. warehouses, since the importers are now paying those costs. You may not see a separate duty line on your receipt, but the higher price will be built into what you pay.

One thing this will not affect is duty-free shopping. Airport shops and other in-person duty-free purchases operate under different rules and are not part of this crackdown on low-value mailed imports.

The bottom line: Overseas bargains are about to get more complicated. Check the origin of your item, look up the tariff rate or stick with those already shipping from U.S. warehouses. Doing a little homework before you buy could save you from disappointment — or sticker shock — later.

Leslie Meredith has been writing about technology for more than a decade. As a mom of four, value, usefulness and online safety take priority. Have a question? Email Leslie at asklesliemeredith@gmail.com.