The White House has issued a new executive order confirming the United States will continue to suspend duty-free de minimis treatment for imports, including low-value parcels, and will begin charging a duty on items sent through the international postal network from 24 February (eastern time).

The order updates and extends Executive Order 14324, signed in July 2025, which removed the longstanding de minimis waiver that let most imports under US$800 enter without duty. It directs transportation carriers delivering through the international postal network — or other parties approved by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — to collect and remit duties on inbound postal items.

Key points:

• Duty on postal parcels: Postal shipments that would otherwise have qualified for de minimis will be charged a duty equal to the rate set in a separate 20 February proclamation establishing a temporary import surcharge. That duty applies until the surcharge expires or until CBP’s new postal entry process takes effect, whichever comes first.
• Collection mechanism: Postal carriers (or other approved parties) must collect and remit the duty to CBP. Country of origin and value must be declared for each dutiable postal item.
• Non-postal shipments: For goods moving outside the international postal network, all shipments — regardless of value — remain subject to applicable duties, taxes, fees and charges, and require a formal entry in CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) by a qualified filer.
• Trade remedies unchanged: Items subject to antidumping or countervailing duties or quotas must continue to be entered under the appropriate ACE entry type.
• Timing and implementation: The order takes effect for goods entered for consumption at or after 12:01 a.m. EST on 24 February. Homeland Security is authorised to issue rules and guidance and to make temporary regulatory changes to implement the policy. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule will be amended via an annex to the order.

The White House says the move follows earlier court actions that affected some tariff measures and a subsequent notification from the Commerce Secretary that systems are now in place to collect duties on postal shipments. It frames the continued suspension as part of responses to previously declared national emergencies tied to border security, illicit drugs and trade practices.

What it means for New Zealand exporters and retailers:

• Low-value orders shipped to US customers by post (e.g., via NZ Post into the USPS network) will no longer clear duty-free. The carrier will collect a duty based on the temporary import surcharge rate set on 20 February.
• Couriers and freight shipped outside the postal network already require formal entry; that continues, now without any de minimis relief.
• CBP will publish details of the new postal entry process in the Federal Register. Until that takes effect, postal parcels will be dutiable without a full customs entry being lodged by CBP.

The order does not state the surcharge rate in the text released today; that figure sits in the 20 February proclamation. Businesses selling into the US should check carrier guidance, ensure product value and origin are accurately declared, and watch for CBP’s forthcoming rules on the postal entry process and duty remittance.