OpenBtoB guide
De minimis ends July 1, 2027: what sellers must classify now
Informational, not legal advice: verify with a licensed customs broker. Every duty rate on this page is an estimate, not legal advice. Facts on this page were last checked on 2026-10-13 against the Federal Register, the US Code and CBP.
For years, a US shipment worth $800 or less could enter duty-free under the "de minimis" exemption. That exemption has been suspended for goods from every country since 29 August 2025, and a federal statute ends it for commercial shipments on 1 July 2027. If you sell low-value goods into the US, from Vietnam, China or anywhere else, each shipment now needs an entry, a US tariff number, and every duty that applies to it.
The timeline
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2025 | Public Law 119-21 is enacted. Its section 70531 repeals the commercial-shipment de minimis exception in 19 U.S.C. 1321, "effective on July 1, 2027". | Pub. L. 119-21, sec. 70531 |
| 29 August 2025 | Executive Order 14324 suspends duty-free de minimis treatment for goods from all countries. | EO 14324, 90 FR 37775 |
| 29 August 2025 | CBP's systems stop accepting Type 86 entries. | CSMS 66065494; 90 FR 42418 |
| 24 February 2026 | Executive Order 14388 keeps the suspension after the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling: the exemption "shall not apply to any shipment ... regardless of value, country of origin, mode of transportation, or method of entry". | EO 14388, 91 FR 9433 |
| 24 June 2026 | CBP's interim final rule suspends de minimis indefinitely for all modes other than mail. Shipments valued at $800 or less "must utilize formal or informal entry procedures". | CBP Dec. 26-12, 91 FR 37789 |
| 24 July 2026 | CBP's interim final rule for mail takes effect: indefinite suspension for postal shipments and a new postal informal entry process. | CBP Dec. 26-13, 91 FR 37801 |
| 8 October 2026 | CBP proposes new filing rules for informal entries of $2,500 or less and a new electronic informal entry type for mail. Comments close on 7 December 2026. | Proposed rule, 91 FR 64532 |
| 1 July 2027 | The statutory repeal takes effect. From this date the end of commercial de minimis is in the law itself, not only in an executive order or a CBP rule. | Pub. L. 119-21, sec. 70531 |
The statute changes the commercial-shipment exception. The separate personal allowances in the same section of law (bona fide gifts and travelers' articles) are not part of that repeal. This page does not cover how those allowances apply during the current suspension.
Which entry a low-value shipment uses now
- Type 86 is gone. CBP's systems reject Type 86 releases since 29 August 2025, and CBP has suspended the Type 86 test.
- Informal entry (type 11): generally for shipments of $2,500 or less. CBP requires filers to transmit "all line level data, including harmonized tariff schedule classifications", and CBP collects all applicable duties, taxes and fees.
- Formal entry (type 01): generally above $2,500. CBP's regulation also limits informal entry for articles over $250 that carry chapter 99, subchapter III or IV duties (Section 301 and 232 sit there), but CBP has suspended that limit until further notice since the de minimis suspension, and its proposed rule of 8 October 2026 would remove it. For now, a shipment of $2,500 or less that carries those duties can generally use informal entry.
- Mail: CBP's postal informal entry asks for "All Applicable 10-digit HTSUS Classification(s)". Goods subject to additional chapter 98 or 99 duties cannot use the postal informal entry from 22 October 2026 and need formal entry.
Your broker or carrier picks the entry type. What you control is the data: a correct US tariff number, value and country of origin for each line.
Why your supplier's code is not the US code
HS codes are the same worldwide only to 6 digits. Every country adds its own digits after that, and the US uses a 10-digit HTSUS number. A cotton T-shirt shows the gap:
| Market | Code length | Code for a cotton T-shirt (heading 6109.10) |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnam tariff book | 8 digits | 6109.10.10 (for men or boys) |
| China export tariff | 8 digits | 6109.1000 |
| US HTSUS | 10 digits | 14 lines under 6109.10, for example 6109.10.00.04 (men's or boys' T-shirts, all white, without pockets, trim or embroidery) |
So a supplier's "6109101000" or "61091010" is not a US number. The first six digits tell you the heading; the US line has to be chosen from the HTSUS description of your product. Two lines in the same 6-digit heading can carry different duties and different chapter 99 measures.
Find your US line in the HS lookup: cotton T-shirts from Vietnam to the US. It lists the US 10-digit lines under the heading.
Which duty layers a low-value entry pays
Without de minimis, a low-value entry pays the same layers as any other entry of the same goods:
- The base (MFN) rate of the HTSUS line.
- Section 301: the duties on goods of China (the China lists), and since 24 July 2026 the forced-labor Section 301 duty on goods of Vietnam, China and other listed countries.
- Section 232: duties on metals, timber, autos and other named products, by product and, for some, metal content.
Two examples as the HS lookup showed them on 2026-10-13 (estimate, not legal advice). The lookup lists each layer with its HTSUS heading, status and source. It does not add them up, and neither does this page: the order of stacking and exemptions decide what is actually owed.
Cotton T-shirts, heading 6109.10 (estimate, not legal advice)
| Layer | From China | From Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Base rate (MFN) | 16.5% | 16.5% |
| Section 301, China list (9903.88.15) | + 7.5% | not applicable |
| Section 301, forced labor (9903.05.31 China, 9903.05.84 Vietnam), from 24 July 2026 | + 12.5% | + 12.5% |
Steel structural bolts, 7318.15.20.30 (estimate, not legal advice)
| Layer | From China | From Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Base rate (MFN) | Free | Free |
| Section 232, steel (9903.82.02) | + 50% | + 50% |
| Section 301, China list (9903.88.03) | + 25% | not applicable |
| Section 301, forced labor | not applied: the line pays Section 232 instead (U.S. note 52(f)) | not applied, same reason |
A lower Section 232 rate (9903.82.06) may apply only where at least 85% of the metal was smelted or melted in the United States; the lookup shows it as "may apply".
Check your own lines: cotton T-shirts from China to the US, structural bolts from China to the US, structural bolts from Vietnam to the US.
What to do before 1 July 2027
- List every product you ship to the US with its 10-digit HTSUS number, not the supplier's code.
- Check each line's layers in the HS lookup: base rate, Section 301, Section 232, and any anti-dumping flag.
- Watch the $2,500 line and the final low-value rule. Above $2,500 a shipment needs formal entry; the $250 chapter 99 limit is suspended now, and the final rule decides whether it goes for good.
- Agree with your buyer or marketplace who is the importer of record and who pays the duties. That is a contract question between you and your buyer.
- Follow CBP's proposed rule on low-value shipments (comments close 7 December 2026); the final rule may change the data an informal entry needs.
Related guides
- US tariffs on Vietnamese goods in 2026: what changed
- IEEPA tariff refunds through CBP's CAPE process
- All guides are listed on Guides.
Check your codes
Use the free HS lookup for any line from Vietnam or China to the US. Sign up to save your codes.
FAQ
Is de minimis already over? Duty-free de minimis treatment is suspended for goods from all countries since 29 August 2025 (EO 14324), kept by EO 14388 from 24 February 2026, and made indefinite by CBP's interim final rules of June and July 2026. The statute ends the commercial-shipment exception on 1 July 2027.
Can I still use a Type 86 entry? No. CBP's systems reject Type 86 releases since 29 August 2025.
Does a $50 shipment pay Section 301 or 232 duties? Yes, where its line carries them. Under the suspension, low-value shipments are "subject to all applicable duties, taxes, fees, exactions, and charges".
Is the 6-digit HS code enough for a US entry? No. Informal entries need the line-level tariff classification, and the postal informal entry asks for the 10-digit HTSUS number.
Sources
Primary sources, checked on 2026-10-13.
- Pub. L. 119-21, sec. 70531 (govinfo), read with 19 U.S.C. 1321: commercial exception repealed from 1 July 2027; gift and traveler allowances not in the strike text
- Executive Order 14324, 90 FR 37775: suspension for all countries from 29 August 2025
- Executive Order 14388, 91 FR 9433: suspension kept from 24 February 2026
- CBP Dec. 26-12, 91 FR 37789: indefinite suspension for all modes other than mail, effective 24 June 2026
- CBP Dec. 26-13, 91 FR 37801: mail and postal informal entry; postal compliance date 22 October 2026
- CBP proposed rule "Low-Value Shipments", 91 FR 64532: informal entry of $2,500 or less; removal of the $250 chapter 99 clause proposed; comments close 7 December 2026
- CBP notice, 90 FR 42418: Type 86 and the 19 CFR 143.21(a) chapter 99 clause suspended until further notice
- 19 CFR 143.21: confirmed text; clause suspended (90 FR 42418); removal proposed (91 FR 64532)
- CBP, CSMS 66065494: ACE rejects Type 86 entries from 29 August 2025
- CBP, CSMS 64957404: entry types 11 and 01, line-level data
- Duty rates: the OpenBtoB HS lookup, US data as of 2026-09-28, HTSUS 2026 Rev. 20 (estimate, not legal advice)
Published 2026-10-13. Last updated 2026-10-13.