Daily Cross-Border E-Commerce Briefing | August 29, 2025
1. U.S. Ends “De Minimis” on Aug 29 — What Dropshippers Must Know Now
- The United States is eliminating the long-standing “de minimis” duty-free threshold for
imports ≤$800 effective Friday, August 29. For independent-site sellers
(Shopify/WooCommerce) running cross-border dropshipping, this means most low-value parcels will now
incur duties and potentially new handling fees. Expect carriers and foreign posts to collect duties
at checkout or upon delivery, longer transit times as customs processes adjust, and higher total
landed costs that must be reflected in pricing and PDP messaging. Action items: add a duty/fees
notice on product pages and checkout, enable pre-duty collection (DDP/PDDP where available), and
update shipping FAQs to reduce surprise charges & cart abandonment.
Source: The Washington Post, Published on: August 28, 2025
2. White House Officials: End of U.S. Low-Value Exemption Is “Permanent”
- Senior officials confirmed the termination of de minimis is not a temporary measure. CBP will
collect normal duty rates on all parcels; a six-month transitional option lets postal operators
apply a flat specific duty ($80–$200) based on origin tariff bands before switching to ad valorem
only. For dropship sellers, “permanent” means you should stop treating duties as edge cases and
build them into pricing, AOV strategy, and post-purchase communications. Test free-shipping
thresholds that absorb predictable duty buckets and clarify who pays what to cut WISMO tickets and
chargebacks.
Source: Reuters, Published on: August 28, 2025
3. CBP Issues Operational FAQ: $80–$200 Flat Duties for Postal Parcels, Ad Valorem by Feb 28, 2026
- U.S. Customs updated its official E-commerce FAQ: from Aug 29, postal shipments can be charged
either ad valorem duties aligned to IEEPA tariff rates or, during a transition, a specific duty
($80/$160/$200) by origin tariff tier; by Feb 28, 2026, postal shipments must use ad valorem only.
“Qualified parties” (carriers/partners) can remit duties monthly; letters/documents remain exempt.
For one-item-per-order dropshipping, this creates predictable duty brackets to model in your
checkout and shipping policy. Add a “Taxes & Duties” section with examples (e.g., UK origin →
typical 10% ad-valorem or $80 during transition) to reduce customer support load.
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Published on: August 28, 2025
4. Dozens of Postal Operators Pause or Restrict U.S. Parcels Ahead of the Deadline
- Multiple national posts across Europe, Asia and the Americas have temporarily suspended U.S.
parcel acceptance while they adapt to duty collection workflows. Expect service gaps for economy
postal lanes many dropshippers rely on (historically the cheapest). Consider switching to services
that can pre-collect duties (duty-paid solutions) and proactively extend delivery estimates on PDPs
and order confirmation emails to protect CSAT during the adjustment window.
Source: Forbes, Published on: August 28, 2025
5. Royal Mail Launches U.S. PDDP (Postal Delivery Duties Paid) Service
- Royal Mail rolled out a PDDP option so UK shippers can pre-pay U.S. duties and keep parcels
moving. For UK-based Shopify/WooCommerce stores running one-piece fulfillment, PDDP minimizes failed
deliveries and surprise “receiver pays” bills that spike refunds. Published pricing indicates a
small handling fee per parcel on top of postage—plan margins accordingly and surface “duties
included” badges to lift conversion where shoppers are wary of extra fees at delivery.
Source: CEP-Research, Published on: August 28, 2025
Source: PA/Irish News, Published on: August 28, 2025
6. Container Rate Watch: Drewry WCI Update for Aug 28
- Drewry’s World Container Index shows spot rates remaining elevated on key Asia–U.S. and
Asia–Europe lanes amid schedule volatility and pre-Golden Week planning. For dropshippers depending
on factory-to-fulfillment movements before last-mile injection, volatility upstream can spill into
replenishment lead times and cost of goods. Bake buffer into promised ship dates on PDPs, and avoid
flash-sale SKUs with fragile margins when ocean rate spikes compress your landed cost.
Source: Drewry, Published on: August 28, 2025
7. Carriers Poised to “Blank” Sailings Before Golden Week — Expect Last-Minute Capacity Cuts
- Analysts warn of late announced blank sailings on transpacific and Asia–Europe routes into
October’s Golden Week. Short-notice capacity pulls can push freight rates and lengthen lead times.
If your dropshipping relies on just-in-time supplier shipments, avoid running aggressive ad spend on
SKUs that may stock-out; expand alternative variant offerings and set realistic pre-order windows
with clear ETAs to prevent cancellations and negative reviews.
Source: The Loadstar, Published on: August 28, 2025
8. Shopify Changelog: New “Announcement Bar” Extension for Thank You & Account Pages
- Shopify introduced an extension that lets you add announcement bars on the Thank You page and
Customer Account pages. For cross-border dropship stores, this is a fast way to communicate
duty-payment status, delivery delays, and self-service order-tracking to reduce WISMO contacts. Best
practice: show “duties included” or “duty collected at checkout” messages post-purchase, link to
your duty/returns policy, and remind buyers about longer transit times while global posts
reconfigure flows.
Source: Shopify Developer Changelog, Published on: August 28, 2025
9. WooCommerce: Cart Cross-Sells Block Soft-Deprecated; Use Product Collection Cross-Sells
- WooCommerce announced that starting with v10.2, the legacy Cart Cross-Sells block is
soft-deprecated and replaced by the more flexible Product Collection Cross-Sells. For dropship
AOV-building, switch your cart recommendations to the new block for better styling and relevance;
highlight “essentials” and “bundle add-ons” that do not materially increase dimensional weight but
can offset new duty costs, protecting margin without hurting conversion.
Source: WooCommerce Developer Blog, Published on: August 28, 2025
10. Global Coverage: Why Many Countries Froze U.S. Shipping and What It Means for SMB Sellers
- Explainers this week compiled country-by-country actions as the U.S. duty change
approached—helpful for independent-site merchants routing from multiple origins. If your
dropshipping catalog ships from different supplier countries, cross-check live acceptance rules
before promising delivery to U.S. customers and prefer services that can calculate and remit duties
upfront. Update geo-shipping banners to avoid selling into temporarily blocked lanes.
Source: AOL Finance, Published on: August 29, 2025
