The de minimis exemption — which historically let shipments valued under $800 enter the US duty-free with minimal processing — was suspended for all countries by executive order in 2025. Following the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling, many assumed the exemption might return. It has not, and CBP has now moved to make the suspension permanent through separate legal authority.
Why the Supreme Court Ruling Didn't Bring It Back
The de minimis suspension was not solely an IEEPA action. CBP has published proposed rules establishing an independent legal basis for indefinitely suspending the exemption, meaning the mechanism keeping low-value imports dutiable no longer depends on the authority the Court addressed.
What This Means in Practice
- Every commercial shipment, regardless of declared value, now generally requires formal or informal customs entry rather than simplified de minimis processing
- The volume impact is significant — low-value parcels that once cleared with minimal data now require full entry information
- E-commerce-dependent businesses face materially higher per-shipment compliance cost, not just the duty itself
Who Feels This Most
Direct-to-consumer brands and marketplaces that built pricing models around duty-free low-value shipments are adjusting fastest — many are shifting toward bulk import with in-country fulfillment rather than shipping every order individually across the border.
The de minimis suspension and the IEEPA tariffs were two separate legal actions that happened to arrive around the same time. One got struck down. The other didn't, and it isn't going anywhere on its own.