De Minimus FAQ

On Friday August 29^th 2025, the United States ended de minimis treatment for goods entering the US from most countries (it had already ended for China and Hong Kong originating deliveries from May 2^nd). This potted summary gives you the essential low-down of what changed and what it might mean for your books

What are de minimis exceptions?

Many countries have de minimis exceptions for duties payable on products imported from overseas. For example, no customs duties are payable on products imported into the UK valued at under £135. For the EU, the threshold is 150 Euros. And for Canada, it is set low, at $20 Canadian. Until August 29^th, the US had a very high threshold - $800 – and it is that threshold that has now been scrapped

Why did the US change their policy?

The US had a very high threshold relative to other countries, and the growth in online retail had led to a huge increase in low-value imports into the US that fell under the threshold (see chart below). Changes to the threshold were already being discussed under the last Biden administration but the new Trump administration has moved further and removed the threshold altogether

Credit: BBC

Does that mean Tariffs need to be paid on books sent to the US?

No. Whilst trade policy is changing rapidly currently, books remain exempt from the current US administration’s policy of trade tariffs. However, even though no tariffs or duties are payable on books imported into the US (so long as the books are not bundled with non-exempt products), with the removal of de minimis all books need to go through full customs clearance. That means full customs documentation needs to be provided, including 10-digit HS codes (for books, that’s generally 4901.99.00.00) and the books need to clear through a customs broker. And with that comes the requirement to pay customs clearance fees

What does that mean in practice?

Most postal services initially suspended deliveries into the US – though both Royal Mail and Deutsche Post has now resumed shipments. The suspension was because of the sheer task of having to process customs clearance on the vast amounts of mail that were moving into the US – the postal services needed time to make arrangements to do that processing - and the fact that existing postal fees didn’t cover such costs. As mail services have put in place such measures, shipments have now resumed – the Royal Mail has a Postal Delivery Duties Paid option that ships with a surcharge to cover customs processing. As you might expect, the customs details now required for that service are more onerous than before – and are vital to get right to avoid being charged duties in error. Courier services, meanwhile, have continued throughout as a customs clearance charge was generally already levied by couriers

Has this changed how Bookvault get books to my US customers?

Most books supplied by Bookvault to US customers were already printed in the US by our print partners before this change took effect, so have been completely unaffected. However, Bookvault still print certain products in the UK and ship to the US – especially many with the extra finishes from Bookvault Bespoke. Books needing expedited delivery from the UK to the US are shipped by courier and, as noted, arrangements for that have not changed. Books shipped economy to the US, with final mile executed by the USPS are imported into the US via consolidated shipments organised by our freight partner. These consolidated deliveries were already above the de minimis threshold so are unaffected. Thus far, Bookvault has noticed no delays or issues at the border, so customers should continue to place orders with confidence

What if I have any more questions?

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Bookvault at the customers@bookvault.app address and we’ll try to get back to you as soon as we can