For years, a UK brand could ship an order worth under $800 to an American customer duty-free and with minimal paperwork. That ended on 29 August 2025, when the US suspended the de minimis exemption for imports from every country. Low-value postal shipments had a temporary flat-duty option; that transition ended on 28 February 2026. Today every parcel is dutiable.
What changed in practice
- Every shipment needs customs data: an accurate description, HS classification, value and country of origin.
- Duty applies at the rate for the product's classification and country of origin — and US tariff rates have changed often, so check them rather than relying on last year's numbers.
- Someone pays the duty: either you at checkout (DDP) or the customer at delivery (DAP).
- Carriers add brokerage or handling fees for the customs entry.
DDP or DAP?
With DAP, the American customer receives a bill for duties and fees before the parcel is handed over. Many refuse it, and you pay for the outbound shipping, the return and the lost sale. With DDP, duties are calculated and paid at checkout and the parcel arrives with nothing to pay. For consumer brands DDP is almost always the right choice.
Setting it up in Shopify
- Add an HS code and country of origin to every product — Shopify needs both to calculate duties.
- Create a US market in Shopify Markets with USD pricing and rounding.
- Enable duties and import taxes at checkout if your plan, payment setup and carrier support it, or use a cross-border service that acts as merchant of record.
- Confirm your carrier's process for US formal entries and the fees it adds.
- Place a real test order and follow it through customs before scaling advertising.
Price for the landed cost
Decide whether duties are absorbed in your margin, built into US prices, or shown as a line at checkout. Many brands set US-specific prices that include expected duties so the customer sees one number. Recalculate when tariff rates change; a product that was profitable in the US last year may not be now.
Returns
Duties paid on a returned order are not always easy to recover. A US returns address or a returns provider that consolidates parcels often costs less than shipping each return back to the UK, and it is a better experience for the customer.