❌ Short Answer: No
The $800 de minimis exemption for Chinese goods has been eliminated. Every package from China — regardless of value — now faces import duties or flat fees when entering the United States.
This is one of the most significant changes to US import rules in 2026, and it directly affects millions of consumers, dropshippers, and small e-commerce sellers who relied on cheap, duty-free shipments from Chinese platforms like Temu, Shein, AliExpress, and Alibaba.
Under Section 321 of the Tariff Act, packages valued at $800 or less could enter the United States duty-free. This exemption — known as "de minimis" — was originally designed for travelers bringing back small purchases. But in the e-commerce era, it became a massive loophole.
Chinese e-commerce platforms used de minimis to ship billions of dollars worth of goods directly to US consumers without paying any import duties. In 2024 alone, over 1.3 billion de minimis packages entered the US, the vast majority from China. The exemption effectively gave Chinese sellers a 15-40% price advantage over domestic retailers and importers who paid full duties on their goods.
The de minimis exemption for Chinese goods was eliminated in stages:
Under the IEEPA tariffs (April 2025 - February 2026), small packages from China became subject to either the full ad valorem tariff rate or a flat per-item fee. After the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs, the administration ensured the de minimis closure was maintained under the new Section 122 framework.
Currently, packages from China valued under $800 face either the applicable tariff rate (MFN + Section 301 + Section 122 if applicable) or a simplified flat fee at the time of entry.
Orders from Temu, Shein, AliExpress, or any Chinese platform will now include import duties. You may see these as separate charges at checkout, or the platform may build them into the product price. Either way, expect Chinese goods to cost 15-40% more than before.
The dropshipping model that relied on duty-free Chinese shipments is fundamentally broken. Every package you send from China to a US customer now incurs duties, destroying margins on low-cost items. Consider transitioning to US-based fulfillment or sourcing from non-China suppliers.
If you import from China in bulk, the de minimis change doesn't affect you much — you were already paying duties on commercial shipments. But if any part of your supply chain used small-parcel imports from China, those costs just increased significantly.
Yes. The $800 de minimis exemption is still technically in effect for shipments from countries other than China. Packages from Vietnam, India, Mexico, and other countries valued under $800 can still enter duty-free. However, the administration has signaled interest in tightening or eliminating de minimis more broadly, so this could change.
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Use Free Calculator →No. Orders from Temu and other Chinese platforms are now subject to import duties regardless of value. The $800 exemption no longer applies to Chinese goods.
No. AliExpress ships from China, so the de minimis exemption no longer applies. Expect duties on all orders.
It was first implemented under IEEPA and has been continued under Section 122. Even if Section 122 expires, the administration has shown clear intent to keep de minimis closed for China.
The $800 de minimis exemption still applies for non-China countries for now. But this could change as trade policy evolves.