The US De Minimis Exemption Is Suspended: What It Means for a Parcel From Thailand
1.36 billion parcels entered the United States duty free under the 800 dollar de minimis rule in fiscal year 2024. That route is closed. Since 29 August 2025 a courier parcel from Thailand pays duty whatever its value, and since 24 July 2026 goods of Thailand also carry a 12.5 percent tariff on top of the normal rate.
When did the US de minimis exemption end?
The 800 dollar de minimis exemption ended for parcels from every country, Thailand included, on 29 August 2025. China and Hong Kong lost it on 2 May 2025. Since then every courier parcel to the USA needs a customs entry and pays duty, at any value.
The rule had existed since 1938. US Customs and Border Protection explains why it was stopped with its own count:
During Fiscal Year 2024, over 1.36 billion de minimis shipments were processed by CBP, an almost ten-fold increase over the 139 million de minimis shipments processed by CBP in 2015.
Source: Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Merchandise Arriving Through All Modes Other Than the International Postal Network, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 24 June 2026.
Date | What changed | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
2 May 2025 | De minimis ends for China and Hong Kong | Executive Order 14256 |
4 July 2025 | Law enacted that removes the 800 dollar tier from 1 July 2027 | Public Law 119-21, section 70531 |
29 August 2025 | De minimis suspended for all countries, Thailand included | Executive Order 14324 |
20 February 2026 | Suspension continued after the Supreme Court tariff ruling | Executive Order 14388 |
24 June 2026 | Suspension written into the customs regulations | 19 CFR 10.151(b), CBP Dec. 26-12 |
24 July 2026 | 12.5 percent tariff on goods of Thailand begins | Section 301 action, 91 FR 47318 |
1 July 2027 | 800 dollar tier removed from the law | Public Law 119-21, section 70531(b)(3) |
Sources: Federal Register; eCFR; govinfo.gov.
Is the suspension permanent?
Close to it. The suspension began as an executive order, entered the customs regulations in June 2026, and the 800 dollar tier leaves the law on 1 July 2027. A court ruling against the President's tariffs would not revive it, because Customs now relies on its own powers.
Customs said so when it published the rule:
CBP is adopting these regulatory measures under its own statutory authority and would do so even in the absence of E.O. 14324 or any related Executive Orders.
Source: CBP Dec. 26-12, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 24 June 2026.
The repeal enacted in July 2025 has a fixed date, quoted from the statute: "The amendments made by this subsection shall take effect on July 1, 2027." After that date, the only small-value exemptions left in the law are bona fide gifts up to 100 dollars and articles carried by travellers.
What replaced de minimis for a parcel from Thailand?
A customs entry replaced it. A courier parcel worth up to 2,500 dollars goes through informal entry, which is a short electronic declaration with the duty paid on it. Above 2,500 dollars the parcel needs a formal entry, a customs bond and a filer authorised by law.
Customs described the change in the June 2026 rule:
Therefore, these shipments will need to use an appropriate entry type, such as the existing informal entry procedures for merchandise valued at $2,500 or less.
Source: CBP Dec. 26-12, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 24 June 2026.
The four orders below show the rule at work. The duty column shows only the 12.5 percent on goods of Thailand. The normal duty for the product, from its line in the US tariff schedule, comes on top.
Value of the order | Entry | Before 29 August 2025 | The 12.5% on goods of Thailand | Customs processing fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
50 dollars | Informal | Duty free under de minimis | 6.25 dollars | 2.77 dollars |
300 dollars | Informal | Duty free under de minimis | 37.50 dollars | 2.77 dollars |
900 dollars | Informal | Already dutiable, above 800 | 112.50 dollars | 2.77 dollars |
3,000 dollars | Formal, with a bond | Already formal entry | 375 dollars | 34.58 dollars, the minimum |
Processing fees for fiscal year 2027, in force from 1 October 2026 (19 CFR 24.23, 91 FR 48398). Duty is charged on the price paid for the goods.
Splitting an order into small boxes no longer saves anything. The old test counted value per person per day, and with no exemption left there is no line to stay under. Parcels sent through the post follow a separate regime that changed again on 24 July 2026, and a courier parcel never used it.
What does a parcel from Thailand pay on top of the normal duty?
12.5 percent since 24 July 2026, on top of the normal duty, under a US trade action on forced labour. The 19 percent reciprocal tariff of August 2025 was stopped in February 2026, after the Supreme Court ruled that the law behind it did not allow tariffs.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative set the rate in July 2026:
the Trade Representative has determined to impose 12.5 percent tariffs on products of Thailand, except as provided in Annex I and Annex II, Part A, of this Notice.
Source: Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Federal Register, 28 July 2026.
Between the two, a temporary 10 percent surcharge applied to every country from 24 February to 24 July 2026. Goods already under a separate US tariff on steel, aluminium, copper, vehicles, car parts, wood products or semiconductors pay that tariff instead of the 12.5 percent. Car parts are covered in the guide for Thai eBay and Etsy sellers of car parts.
Is any parcel from Thailand still duty free?
Only a real gift. A gift worth up to 100 dollars, from a person in Thailand to a person in the USA, is still exempt. A sale is not a gift, and a parcel from a business is presumed not to contain one.
The regulation defines what a gift excludes:
It does not include articles acquired by purchase, barter, promissory exchange, or similar transaction, nor does it include articles said to be “given” in conjunction with a purchase, barter, promissory exchange, or similar transaction, such as a so-called bonus article.
Source: 19 CFR 10.153(a), Conditions for exemption, eCFR.
A free sample packed with an order is therefore part of the order. The same section adds that "A parcel addressed to a person in the United States from a business firm in a foreign country would ordinarily not contain a gift from a donor in the foreign country." Customs confirmed in June 2026 that the suspension does not touch the gift exemption or the allowance for travellers.
What happens when the duty on a parcel is not paid?
The parcel stays with US Customs. The duty is the importer's debt, normally the buyer's on a service without duty included, and refusing an ordered parcel does not cancel it. Goods without an entry go to a general order warehouse after 15 days and count as abandoned after 6 months.
The regulation puts the debt on the importer, not on the courier:
The liability for duties, both regular and additional, attaching on importation, constitutes a personal debt due from the importer to the United States which can be discharged only by payment in full of all duties legally accruing, unless relieved by law or regulation.
Source: 19 CFR 141.1(b)(1), Liability of importer for duties, eCFR.
Step | Rule | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
Entry deadline | 15 calendar days after the plane lands | 19 CFR 142.2(a) |
Duty not paid | Goods become general order merchandise, at the receiver's risk and expense | 19 CFR 127.1(b) |
6 months in custody unpaid | Goods are unclaimed and abandoned | 19 CFR 127.11 |
Parcel refused by the buyer | Duty still owed, unless the goods were never ordered | 19 CFR 141.1(f) |
Carriers add their own fees for collecting duty from the receiver, set in each carrier's tariff and not by law. The difference between the two ways of shipping is explained in the guide on DDP shipping.
How Dragon Courier handles it
Dragon Courier runs its own service to the USA and clears customs itself, then a US carrier delivers the last leg. The prices are duty and tax inclusive: the entry, the duty for the goods and the 12.5 percent are paid in Thailand inside the price, so the receiver gets the parcel without a customs bill.
Weight | E-commerce | Standard | Express |
|---|---|---|---|
1 kg | 843 | 942 | 1,260 |
2 kg | 1,369 | 1,474 | 1,861 |
5 kg | 2,671 | 2,729 | 3,548 |
Thai Baht, duty and tax included, general price list of 3 August 2026. The e-commerce tier is for lighter parcels up to 8 kg and cannot be insured. The full list is in the guide on shipping costs from Thailand to the USA.
About Dragon Courier
Dragon Courier is a Bangkok courier, family owned, with more than 30 years in logistics in Thailand and more than 20,000 shipments a month to over 200 destinations. Its USA prices are duty and tax inclusive on every tier, so a Thai seller can quote a US buyer one all-in price.
Contacts and drop-off
The contents of the box, its value and where it is going are enough to get a quote. Office +66 2656 9019, Justin is on LINE and WhatsApp at +66 6-5937-0812, or info@dragoncourier.com. Drop-off runs until 17:00, Monday to Saturday, at the Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Soi 4 (217/3 Crystal Garden Building, 3rd floor, Klongtoey 10110) or the Chiang Mai office on Viangbua Road, and a pickup can be arranged for a date and time that suits. Does the price on the listing already include the US duty?
Is the 800 dollar de minimis exemption still in effect for parcels to the USA?
No. The 800 dollar exemption has been suspended for parcels from all countries since 29 August 2025, and for courier parcels the suspension has been part of the customs regulations since 24 June 2026. A law enacted in July 2025 also removes the 800 dollar tier on 1 July 2027.
Do I pay US duty on a 50 dollar parcel from Thailand?
Yes. Every courier parcel from Thailand pays the normal duty for its goods plus the 12.5 percent tariff on goods of Thailand, whatever its value, and goes through an informal entry with a processing fee of 2.77 dollars. With a duty inclusive service the sender pays it in Thailand inside the price.
Can an order be split into smaller parcels to avoid US duty?
No. With the exemption suspended there is no value below which a parcel enters free, so splitting an order only multiplies the shipping cost. Gifts up to 100 dollars between private persons are the one exemption left, and a sale or a free item packed with a sale does not count.
What is the US tariff on goods from Thailand now?
Goods of Thailand pay the normal duty for their tariff line plus 12.5 percent, in force since 24 July 2026. The earlier 19 percent reciprocal tariff stopped being collected in February 2026. Goods under the separate US tariffs on steel, aluminium, vehicles and car parts pay those tariffs instead of the 12.5 percent.
What happens if the buyer refuses to pay the duty?
The parcel stays in US Customs custody. The duty is the importer's debt, and refusing an ordered parcel does not cancel it. Without an entry the goods move to a general order warehouse after 15 days and are treated as abandoned after 6 months. A duty paid service avoids the problem.
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