Lara GuevaraSupply Chain expert (Product and Service)

Your Shipping Model Just Broke

2 May 2026 · 1 min

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1:02

Lara Guevara explains how the elimination of the $800 de minimis duty exemption destroys direct-shipping models from China. A $25 product that cost $6 to land now faces full customs duties, making unit economics unsustainable. Brands must either overhaul fulfillment strategy or kill the product.

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If you're still using the minimis, this one is for you. The minimis was the rule that let packages under $800 to enter the US duty-free. Brands use it for years. Small parcel direct from China, no duties, no cost, fast to market. That rule is gone for China and Hong Kong, and as of August 2025, it's gone for every country. What that means for your model is every unit you ship directly from a Chinese supplier to a US customer now pays full duties at customs. Your product costs $25 retail and you were landing it for $6, the math is broken. The brand hit hardest are the ones who built their entire fulfillment model around that exception. They didn't have a 3PL, they didn't hold US inventory, they just shipped direct and it's called supply chain. That model is over. So the fix is not complicated, but it does require a decision. Tomorrow, how to know if your qualms is fixable or if the product is no longer viable.