Can I still ship low-value parcels from China duty-free?
No — not in the United States, and the same exemption has been withdrawn or is being withdrawn across the EU and UK. Low-value parcels from China now require a formal customs entry and attract duty. Confirm the current rule for your destination with that country’s customs authority before you quote a landed cost.
This area changes quickly. The explanation below is written to stay true as the numbers move, and deliberately avoids quoting a rate or threshold that would age badly. Check the official sources at the foot of this page, and confirm with a licensed professional before you rely on it. Last checked 23 August 2026.
For most of the last decade a parcel below a value threshold could enter the United States without duty and without a formal entry. Enormous direct-to-consumer businesses were built on that threshold. It has been withdrawn — first for goods of Chinese and Hong Kong origin, then across the board — and the European Union and United Kingdom have moved the same way on their own low-value reliefs.
We deliberately do not publish the current rate or threshold on this page. Those numbers have changed several times in the last eighteen months, and a figure quoted back to you with our name attached — after it has changed — would be worse than no page at all. The links at the foot of this page are the live sources. What follows is the part that does not change: what it means for how you operate.
What actually changed for a small seller
The tariff is the headline, but the operational change is bigger. A business that used to ship 200 parcels a week direct from a Chinese warehouse now has to do things it has never done.
| What you needed before | What you need now |
|---|---|
| No customs entry | A formal entry for every commercial shipment |
| No HS classification | A correct HS code per SKU — classification errors are your liability |
| No importer of record | A named importer of record, with the duty liability that carries |
| No customs broker | A broker, or the capability in-house |
| No bulk MOQ negotiation | Bulk buying, which means a supplier relationship worth verifying |
| No local storage | Local fulfilment, or a 3PL, or both |
| Supplier quality barely mattered per-parcel | One bad container is now the whole quarter |
The consequence nobody plans for
Buying in bulk concentrates risk. When you shipped parcels, a bad supplier cost you a handful of refunds. When you ship a container, a bad supplier costs you the container — plus the duty you already paid on it, which is not refunded because the goods were disappointing. This is the single reason supplier verification stopped being optional for small importers: not because fraud increased, but because the cost of being wrong went up by two orders of magnitude.
How to check the position for your market
- Go to the destination country’s customs authority directly — not a freight forwarder’s blog, and not this page.
- Confirm the current treatment of low-value consignments and whether origin changes it.
- Ask your customs broker to confirm in writing before you commit to a landed-cost model.
- Rebuild your landed cost per SKU, not per shipment. Duty is charged on classification, and classification is per product.
Want this done rather than explained?
What is actually landing on your product, and what your broker will ask for — from US$350, 5–8 working days.
Sources
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- European Commission — Taxation and Customs Union
- UK HMRC — Import goods into the UK
All sources checked 23 August 2026. This page is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Requirements vary by product, market and circumstance — confirm your own position before acting.
