Import duties to the U.S. from 2025 onwards are a matter of great curiosity for Americans. Customs duty is a tax collected by the country where the buyer resides. Therefore, when a buyer purchases goods from an overseas direct purchase platform and brings them into their country, the duty paid is the buyer's responsibility.
Customs duties began to be levied on goods purchased by Americans from overseas shopping malls starting August 29, 2025. And on August 13, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) recognized the 'abolition of the $800 de minimis exemption' as lawful. Therefore, small-value overseas direct purchase goods are subject to duties according to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) based on the type of goods.
However, 'bona fide gifts' between individuals overseas with a value of $100 or less are exempt from duty. To be exempt from duty for gifts between individuals, both the sender and receiver must be individuals, the value of the goods must be $100 or less, and 'Unsolicited Gift' must be written on the outside of the package. Alcohol, tobacco, and perfumes containing alcohol are only exempt up to $5.
Two ways to pay customs duties
DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid): This is the case for typical shipping methods. When the goods arrive at U.S. customs, the shipping company (FedEx, DHL, UPS, or USPS) contacts the U.S. buyer to charge duties and customs clearance fees. The buyer must pay these directly to receive the goods.
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): The estimated customs duty is paid in advance during the checkout process when ordering the goods. In this case, since the buyer paid the taxes in advance when ordering, the seller pays the customs duty on behalf of the buyer to customs through the shipping company during U.S. customs clearance, so the buyer does not need to pay duties at customs.
We do not charge buyers an estimated customs duty when ordering goods. Therefore, the buyer must pay the customs duty directly. However, even though our shopping mall operates overseas, goods shipped from a U.S. logistics warehouse to a U.S. delivery address are naturally exempt from customs duty. We have several logistics centers in the U.S. that ship our products.
