Short answer: shipping from China to USA in 2026 is decided by the entry procedure, not by how small the parcel is. Duty-free treatment for low-value commercial shipments has been suspended for goods of all origins since 29 August 2025, so every commercial shipment now needs a classification, a declared customs value, an importer of record and an entry filed with US Customs and Border Protection. What varies is which entry procedure applies and who prepares it.
This guide is written for importers, marketplace sellers, brand owners and procurement teams who are responsible for getting goods into the United States and who need to understand the mechanics before they book anything. It covers the execution layer: choosing an entry procedure, understanding what the ten-digit classification determines, establishing who may act as importer of record, assembling the documents that must exist before the goods move, and turning several suppliers into one controlled shipment. It does not re-explain the commercial model behind the change. Our separate note on dropshipping to the USA after de minimis covers how the fulfilment economics changed, and is the companion to this page.
1. What changed, and what did not: a dated timeline
Most of the confusion in buyer enquiries comes from treating “de minimis is gone” as a single event. It was not. It was a sequence of measures with different legal bases and different effective dates, and some of the later items are still proposals rather than obligations. If a supplier, a carrier or a software dashboard gives you a confident one-line answer, the first question to ask is which date they are quoting.
- 29 August 2025 — in force. Duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value commercial shipments was suspended for goods of all origins and all transport modes, including the international postal network. Bona fide gifts and personal articles accompanying travellers were not affected.
- 20 February 2026 — in force. A further executive order continued the suspension. A court decision earlier in 2026 that struck down a separate tariff authority did not restore the exemption.
- 24 June 2026 — published. CBP issued interim final rules writing the indefinite suspension into customs regulations and creating a new informal entry process for postal shipments.
- 24 July 2026 — in force. The new postal informal entry process took effect.
- 22 September 2026 — voluntary test. CBP began an electronic Entry Type 13 test for qualifying postal shipments. Participation is voluntary, not a universal replacement for existing procedures.
- 8 October 2026 — proposed, not yet operative. CBP published a proposed rule on low-value shipments covering mandatory electronic filing, additional deliver-to party data and updated bond requirements. As of early November 2026 it remains a proposal with a public comment deadline of 7 December 2026. It should not be quoted as a current filing obligation.
- 22 October 2026 — postponed. CBP extended the compliance date for certain formal-entry requirements affecting international mail to 20 January 2027. During the extension the existing informal mail process remains available. The extension did not restore the exemption or suspend duty collection.
- 1 July 2027 — scheduled. Separate legislation repeals the commercial de minimis exception by statute. Until then the suspension operates under the executive and regulatory measures above.
One distinction is worth more than the whole timeline, because it is the error we see most often. A figure of 2,500 dollars appears in the rules as an informal entry threshold. That is a procedural ceiling describing which entry type may be used for an eligible shipment; it is not a duty-free allowance. A shipment below that figure still has duty assessed against its classification and declared customs value. Confusing the two produces quotes that look cheap until the entry is filed.
2. Choose the entry procedure before you choose a carrier
The entry procedure is the first decision, not the last. It determines what data the filer must hold, whether a bond is needed, and who is legally permitted to file. Carriers quote against a mode of transport; they do not decide your entry type. If you book the transport first and discover the filing requirements afterwards, the corrective work happens against a fixed departure date.
| Procedure | When it generally applies | Data the filer must hold | Typical filer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informal entry (Entry Type 11) | Eligible non-postal commercial shipments at or below the informal entry threshold | Description, origin, ten-digit classification, customs value, duty calculation | Licensed customs broker acting for the importer |
| Formal entry | Shipments above the threshold, or goods that require it regardless of value, such as quota, antidumping or regulated categories | Full entry package, bond, and any agency-specific filings | Licensed customs broker, usually with a continuous or single transaction bond |
| New postal informal entry | Eligible international mail shipments at or below the informal threshold | Filer code, bond number, description, origin, ten-digit classification, value, carrier, tracking and arrival data | Parties with the right to make entry, or a designated licensed broker |
| Entry Type 13 test | Voluntary electronic option for qualifying postal shipments, introduced in September 2026 | Electronic submission through the automated commercial environment, with agency data where applicable | Participants in the CBP test |
Two practical consequences follow. First, eligibility is not the same as simplicity: a shipment can be small and still be pushed out of the simplified path by the nature of the goods, by a free trade agreement claim, by Chapter 98 or Chapter 99 treatment, or by a partner government agency requirement. Second, the postal channel has its own rules. Do not assume that a procedure that works for a courier shipment applies unchanged to an international mail item, or the other way round.
This is why we ask about the sales channel early. A buyer shipping a pallet to a warehouse, a seller sending stock to a marketplace fulfilment centre and an operator dispatching individual parcels to end customers are running three different filing patterns even when the product is identical. Our service overview sets out where those routes sit in a wider programme.
3. The ten-digit classification decides the duty stack
Once the procedure is settled, the classification drives the cost. The ten-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule code is not an administrative detail to be filled in at the port. It determines the base duty rate, whether additional measures apply to Chinese-origin goods on that line, whether antidumping or countervailing duties are in play, and which agencies need to see the shipment. A wrong code does not merely produce a slightly different invoice; it can produce an exam, a delay and a retroactive adjustment.
On top of the duty itself, importers should expect processing and harbour fees where the entry type and transport mode make them applicable, plus any broker and bond charges. These are separate from the freight quotation. A quote that presents a single landed number without showing which of these components are included is not a quote you can compare with another one.
We deliberately do not publish a rate table on a page like this. Two products sitting next to each other in a catalogue can fall on different lines, measures in force at the time of entry change, and a number that is correct when written can be wrong by the time a reader acts on it. What we do instead is agree the classification with the importer and their broker before the shipment is booked, and record it on the commercial documents. If you are still at the product selection stage, our category overview and our note on verifying a Chinese supplier explain how specification detail collected in China becomes the description a broker can actually classify.
For buyers who have been quoted on a metal or assembled component before, the same discipline applies: our earlier note on landed cost for metal parts walks through the difference between a supplier’s ex-works figure and the amount that reaches the entry summary. The principle has not changed; the entry types have.
4. Who may act as importer of record
The importer of record is the party responsible for the accuracy of the entry and for the duties owed. It is a legal role, not a logistics convenience. A common assumption in cross-border e-commerce is that whoever arranges the transport becomes the importer by default, or can simply nominate itself. That is not how the right to make entry works, and the answer differs depending on whether the importer has a US entity.
Non-resident importers face additional scrutiny around bond arrangements, beneficial ownership information and the designation of a licensed broker. Requirements on documentation and on who may file have tightened through 2026, which is why a structure that cleared parcels smoothly two years ago should be re-checked rather than repeated. We have written a dedicated explanation in Who is the importer of record on a shipment from China, including who owns each document and what to confirm before a first shipment.
From a sourcing side, the useful question is simple: before any goods move, can the buyer name the entity that will make entry, and does that entity have a broker and a bond in place? If the answer is not yet, that is a planning task, not a customs problem to be solved at the port. Our China procurement agent page describes how we handle the supplier side of that conversation, and the UK customs and EORI guide shows the equivalent question being asked in another destination, where the registration logic is different but the discipline of naming the responsible party is the same.
5. Documents checklist before the goods move
Every delay we are asked to help untangle has the same shape: the shipment is already in motion and one document either does not exist or disagrees with another. The commercial invoice says one thing, the packing list says another, and nobody has confirmed who is filing the pre-arrival data. The table below is the checklist we work through before a US-bound shipment is released to the carrier.
| Document or filing | Prepared by | Needed before | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial invoice | Supplier, reviewed by the importer | Booking | Description, quantity, unit value, currency, origin and parties |
| Packing list | Supplier or consolidation point | Booking | Carton count, weights, dimensions and how the goods are packed |
| Bill of lading or air waybill | Carrier or forwarder | Departure | The transport contract and the consignee details |
| Importer Security Filing (ISF, often called 10 plus 2) | Importer or its broker | At least 24 hours before ocean cargo is loaded at origin | Advance security data for ocean shipments |
| Air Cargo Advance Screening data | Carrier or forwarder chain | As early as possible in the air shipment cycle | Advance risk screening for air cargo |
| Customs bond | Surety arranged by the importer or broker | Entry filing | Security for duties, taxes and compliance |
| Entry summary (CBP Form 7501) | Licensed customs broker | Release of the goods | Classification, value, duty calculation and entry type |
| Agency-specific filings where applicable | Importer or broker, with the supplier’s technical file | Entry filing | Product-specific regulatory clearances for regulated categories |
Note where the supplier’s responsibility ends and the importer’s begins. A factory in China can produce an accurate invoice and packing list, but it cannot decide the importer of record, file the entry or hold the bond. When a supplier offers to “handle everything”, ask which of the rows above they will personally be responsible for, and get the answer in writing. That single question prevents most of the disputes we see.
6. Ocean and air have different pre-arrival filings
Buyers often treat the transport mode as a cost and speed decision only. Legally it also changes the advance data obligation. Ocean cargo into the United States requires an Importer Security Filing accepted by CBP at least 24 hours before the container is loaded at the origin port. The ten data elements come from the importer side and two from the carrier. Late, inaccurate or missing filings carry civil penalties and can hold the cargo, so the clock starts well before the vessel sails.
Air cargo follows a separate advance screening programme with its own data set, transmitted as early as possible in the shipment cycle. The mechanics differ, but the principle is identical: the screening happens before departure, not at arrival. This is one reason we insist on confirmed product descriptions and carton data at the consolidation point rather than at the airport.
There is also a planning consequence. A supplier who finishes packing on the day of the cutoff leaves no room for a broker to review the description, correct the classification or resolve a mismatch between the invoice and the packing list. Building in a documentation review before the goods leave the factory is cheaper than solving the same problem against a fixed flight. Our freight forwarder overview and the DDP shipping guide describe how we split those responsibilities between the supplier, the consolidation point, the broker and the carrier.
7. DDP, DDU or FOB: who owns clearance
Incoterms are commercial terms describing which party pays for and controls each stage. They are not a customs status. A shipment sold on DDP terms still needs a lawful importer of record, a valid classification and an entry filed by a party entitled to do so. The term allocates cost and risk between buyer and seller; it does not transfer legal responsibility away from the importer.
In practice, three questions settle most arguments. Who is named as importer of record on the entry? Who holds the bond and the broker relationship? Who pays the duties and fees if the classification is challenged or an additional measure applies at the time of entry? If those three answers point to different parties, write the arrangement down before the order is placed rather than discovering it at the port.
This is also where a sourcing partner earns its keep. We can align the commercial invoice, the packing list and the product specification in China before they are issued, so the broker is not trying to classify a vague description written for a domestic sales order. Our DDP guide explains the door-to-door structure in detail, and the packaging page covers the carton and marking decisions that feed directly into the packing list.
8. Consolidating several suppliers into one controlled shipment
Most first-time importers do not buy from one factory. They buy a main product from one workshop, an accessory from another, and printed packaging from a third. Left alone, that becomes three sets of documents, three descriptions of the same product family, and three chances for the data to disagree. Consolidating at a single point in China turns it into one reviewed shipment with one coherent set of papers.
The sequence is straightforward. Receive each supplier’s goods at one warehouse, check quantities and carton condition against the approved sample and the packing list, resolve any description mismatch while the goods are still in China, then pack and mark the consolidated shipment to the destination channel’s rules. For marketplace fulfilment, labelling and carton requirements need to be built into that step, not added at the destination. Our pages on pre-shipment inspection and FBA prep and labelling describe the two halves of that work.
The benefit is not only administrative. When one party holds the full SKU list, the classification review can happen once, the commercial invoice can be made consistent across every line, and the broker receives a package that describes what is actually in the cartons. That is the difference between an entry that files cleanly and one that generates a request for more information while the goods sit at the port.
9. Peak season: what is still open when the ocean window closes
Black Friday and Cyber Monday create a predictable annual squeeze. Ocean capacity for the peak season is committed well in advance, air capacity is priced and allocated by carriers at the time of booking, and marketplace receiving appointments lengthen as the weekend approaches. By the time the sale is close, the practical question is no longer which mode is cheapest but which channel is still open at all.
We do not publish a generic cut-off date on a page that will be read next year. A date that is useful in early November is misleading in December, and a promise about transit time is not something a sourcing partner can make on behalf of a carrier. What we do instead is ask for the destination, the SKU list, the channel and the date the goods must be available, then confirm the current position with the carriers involved. If the warehouse window has closed, we say so rather than booking a shipment that will arrive after the sale.
One route is structurally different: holding stock in China and dispatching orders one by one to end customers does not depend on a seasonal warehouse appointment. It has its own trade-offs in delivery time and per-order customs treatment, and it is not a substitute for a planned inventory programme, but it remains available when bulk inbound options are not. Our China dropshipping agent page sets out how that model works, and the companion article on US dropshipping after de minimis explains the cost side of the same decision.
10. What we need in order to quote a US-bound shipment
A useful quotation starts with facts that can be verified in China, not with a freight rate pulled from a table. If you send the following, we can shortlist the right suppliers, set out the documentation split and describe the realistic channel options for your destination:
- The product description, material and intended use, or a link to the current listing you are buying against.
- A provisional SKU list with quantities per line, and whether the goods come from one supplier or several.
- Destination city or region, and whether the goods go to your own warehouse, a marketplace fulfilment centre or direct to end customers.
- The entity that will act as importer of record, and whether a US broker and bond are already in place.
- Any classification information you already hold, or a note that you need it confirmed.
- Packaging, labelling and marking requirements for the destination channel.
- The date the goods need to be available, and what is still changeable in the specification.
With that, the work is a coordination exercise: confirm the specification with each workshop, align the documents, agree the consolidation point, and put the entry question in front of a licensed broker before anything ships. If the design or the SKU list is still moving, say so at the start. It is cheaper to quote a range of structures than to rework a confirmed order after the invoice has been issued. You can start from the contact page or message us directly with the list above.
Frequently asked questions
Is there still a duty-free allowance for small commercial parcels from China to the USA?
No. Duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value commercial shipments has been suspended for goods of all origins since 29 August 2025 and remained suspended through 2026. Every commercial shipment needs an entry, a classification and a declared customs value, whatever its value. Limited exceptions for bona fide gifts and travellers’ personal articles are separate and do not apply to goods that were bought or sold.
Does the 2,500-dollar informal entry threshold mean my shipment is duty free?
No. That figure is a procedural ceiling that helps determine which entry type may be used for an eligible shipment. It is not an exemption from duty. Duty is still assessed against the ten-digit classification and the declared customs value, and processing fees may apply. This is the single most common misunderstanding in the enquiries we receive.
Who can be the importer of record if my company has no US entity?
A non-resident importer can in principle make entry, but the documentation, bond arrangements and broker designation are more demanding than for a US entity, and the position has tightened through 2026. Do not assume a forwarder can simply nominate itself. Confirm the structure with a licensed US customs broker before the first shipment, and see our dedicated guide on the importer of record for the document split.
What is the difference between ISF and the air cargo advance screening data?
ISF is the advance security filing for ocean cargo, accepted by CBP at least 24 hours before the container is loaded at the origin port, with ten data elements from the importer side and two from the carrier. Air cargo uses a separate advance screening programme with its own data set, transmitted as early as possible in the shipment cycle. Both happen before departure, not at arrival.
Should I treat the October 2026 low-value shipment proposal as a new filing obligation?
No. As of early November 2026 it remains a proposed rule with a public comment deadline of 7 December 2026, not an operative requirement. Separately, a compliance date affecting certain formal-entry requirements for international mail was postponed to 20 January 2027. We keep the two apart in our planning, and we recommend confirming the current position with a licensed broker rather than relying on a summary page.
Can stock still reach the USA before Black Friday if the ocean window has closed?
It depends on the channel, the carrier’s current capacity and the receiving appointment, all of which change through the peak season. Ocean space is typically committed well in advance; air and express options are priced and allocated at the time of booking. Send us the destination, SKU list and the date you need the goods available, and we will tell you which channels are genuinely still open rather than quoting a generic transit time. Direct-to-customer parcels from a China stock pool are the option that does not depend on a seasonal warehouse appointment.
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