US Customers - End of the De Minimis Exemption – What It Means for You

Effective 29th August 2025, the De Minimis exemption on imports under $800 has been removed.

What was the De Minimis Exemption?

Since 1938, US residents have benefited from a tax-free allowance on low-value imports, most recently set at $800 per shipment. This allowance was known as the De Minimis exemption.

On 30th July 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order suspending this exemption, meaning that from 29th August 2025, all imports into the USA are subject to duties and taxes.

I’m in the US – what does this mean for me?

From now on, every shipment entering the USA will be assessed for import duty and tax.

• Tariffs are based on the country of manufacture, not the country of shipment.

  • Example 1: A product made in the UK and shipped from the UK will incur a 10% charge under the new US/UK tariff rate (which is one of the lowest country rates).
    

  • Example 2: A product made in China but shipped from the UK will incur a 30% charge (at time of writing), because the tariff is linked to where it was manufactured, not where it was shipped from.

How will duties and taxes be collected?

There are two possibilities:

1. Delivery Duty Paid (DDP): Taxes and duties are collected upfront by the seller and remitted to US Customs. Your order arrives with nothing more to pay.

2. Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU): The courier will request payment from you before or at delivery.

How Starstills will handle this change:

You don’t need to worry – we’ve been shipping worldwide for over 17 years and work closely with trusted couriers.

• Almost all of our products are manufactured in the UK, meaning they are subject only to the 10% UK tariff.

• Printed goods (such as cardboard cutouts, posters and photos) are not subject to additional duty charges.

• We will collect the 10% tariff at checkout, shown clearly as a tax line. This is paid directly to the carrier at shipment, ensuring your order is sent DDP with no extra charges on delivery.

Will this cause delays?

• Cardboard cutouts (courier shipments): Minimal delays expected. Couriers already have clearance teams in the USA and handle DDP shipments routinely.

• Smaller items (Royal Mail): Sent using Royal Mail’s new DDP service. There may be slight delays while the service beds in, but you can track your parcel via both Royal Mail and USPS. Courier upgrades are available at checkout if you prefer.

Still have questions?

If you need any advice about how the end of the De Minimis exemption affects your order, please get in touch – we’re always happy to help.