On July 30, the US government announced the suspension of the de minimis exemption, effective August 29. The de minimis exemption applies to shipments into the US valued at less than USD $800 – exempting them from import duties and local taxes.
What does this mean?
Shipments arriving at US customs from August 29 will require import duties and taxes to be paid. These duties and taxes are paid by the importer. For most businesses shipping directly to customers in the United States, this means the customer will be required to make these payments for the shipment to be released - adding cost, time and inconvenience to the purchasing experience.
During this period of uncertainty, we have decided to temporarily pause sales into the United States. We want to assure you, our goal is to continue selling into the United States. We are taking this action to minimize disruption, cost and inconvenience to our customers during the transition phase. This change impacts our US customers only.
What are we doing about it?
We are addressing this in two ways:
- By warehousing our products in the United States and fulfilling US-based orders from local warehouses. This was already part of our business plan, and we are accelerating our efforts to get our stock warehoused in the US as quickly as possible. We are aiming for US-based fulfilment by October 2025. This may be challenging because customs agents are currently experiencing more enquiries from direct-to-customer businesses like ours. Please be assured, we are working hard to achieve this goal as quickly as possible.
- Modifying our ecommerce direct-to-customer transaction model. Most likely by implementing DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) for sales into the United States – meaning we pay the import duties and taxes in advance, so the shipment is cleared quickly through customs. This requires updates to some shipping/logistics companies' capabilities but, once available, we will move to this model or similar.
What if my shipment doesn’t arrive before August 29?
For customers whose shipments don’t clear US customs before the deadline, we will contact you personally.
We will keep all customers updated during this period. If you have any questions, please reach out via the Contacts page
Thanks again for your continued support. We love manufacturing and selling a product that helps our customers improve their game and save money – and we plan to continue!
The Slide SHIELD team