Nearly a year after the US eliminated the $800 de minimis exemption for imported goods, many cross-border sellers are still operating under outdated assumptions — and missing legitimate duty refund claims in the process. This shift has direct implications for your landed costs, pricing strategy, and cash flow if you’re sourcing internationally.
What Changed
- The $800 de minimis threshold (the duty-free import ceiling) is now zero in the US
- Duties and taxes now apply to virtually all imported shipments, regardless of value
- Many sellers have not adjusted their cost models or pricing to reflect this reality
The Refund Opportunity
- Cross-border sellers may be eligible to claim back duties paid on imports under current rules
- Refund claims are being left on the table by sellers who haven’t reviewed their recent import records
- This is retroactive opportunity — reviewing past shipments can recover real cash
Immediate Actions for FBA Sellers
- Audit your landed costs: Recalculate your true import duties on shipments from the past 12 months; many sellers underestimated them
- Review pricing: Ensure your ASPs account for 100% duty exposure, not the old $800 exemption cushion
- File refund claims: If you’ve overpaid or undercalculated, work with a customs broker to file duty recovery requests
- Update supplier agreements: Confirm who bears duty responsibility going forward
How Squatio helps
When cross-border sourcing costs shift due to regulatory changes like this, your entire unit economics model needs re-evaluation. Prospect (Product Database) lets you track and compare landed cost scenarios across your active SKUs, so you can quickly model the impact of new duty regimes on your margins and adjust pricing or sourcing decisions before they compound into lost profitability. Accurate landed-cost data is foundational to both sourcing decisions and competitive pricing — especially when tax and duty rules change mid-year.
Have you recalculated your landed costs since the de minimis exemption was eliminated, and if so, did you find a material gap between your old assumptions and actual duty exposure?
Source: De Minimis Hit Zero in the US: How to Claim Back Duty Refunds Cross-Border Sellers Are Missing