## CBP’s Low-Value Shipments Proposal: What International Sellers Need to Know
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has proposed significant changes for low-value imports. The proposal affects international sellers shipping goods into the United States, including Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopify sellers.
On 8 October 2026, CBP published its **Low-Value Shipments** Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register. The proposal is document 2026-20650, under docket USCBP-2026-0298.
The public comment deadline is **7 December 2026**.
This is a proposed rule, not a final rule. However, you should start preparing now. The changes could affect your U.S. importer of record arrangements, customs broker processes, landed costs, postal fulfilment and shipment records.
## Understand what CBP is proposing
The proposal would change how goods valued at **$2,500 or less** enter the United States.
The main changes include:
– Requiring most informal Entry Type 11 filings to be submitted electronically.
– Moving the filing deadline to **on or before the date of importation**.
– Requiring the final deliver-to party to be identified when different from the ultimate consignee.
– Allowing certain Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV goods valued between $251 and $2,500 to use informal entry procedures.
– Establishing **Entry Type 13** for eligible international mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less.
– Requiring additional postal data, including the shipper or sender and tracking number.
– Requiring a single transaction bond or continuous basic importation and entry bond for Entry Types 11 and 13.
– Introducing a proposed minimum liquidated damages amount of $1,000 for specified bond breaches.
– Treating unentered international mail shipments as voluntarily abandoned after 15 days.
You can read the full [CBP proposed rule in the Federal Register](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/08/2026-20650/low-value-shipments).
## Do not confuse the proposal with an immediate new deadline
The date of **7 December 2026** is the deadline for submitting comments. It is not the date on which every proposed requirement automatically becomes law.
CBP must review comments before deciding whether to finalise, amend or withdraw the proposal. The final rule may also contain different implementation dates.
You should therefore separate your response into two parts:
1. **Prepare operationally** for the proposed requirements.
2. **Submit comments** if the changes would create material cost, timing or data problems for your business.
Entry Type 13 is already being tested in the international mail environment. The proposed rule would turn the process into a formal regulatory pathway for eligible postal shipments.
## See why low-value shipments are changing
The U.S. de minimis environment has already changed. Duty-free de minimis treatment for imports from all countries has been suspended since 29 August 2025. It is also scheduled to terminate on 1 July 2027 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
As a result, shipments that previously moved through the de minimis exemption are shifting into informal entry procedures.
This matters because a low-value shipment is no longer necessarily a low-compliance shipment. CBP wants more information before or at the time goods arrive. That information helps CBP assess:
– Customs value.
– Tariff classification.
– Country of origin.
– Applicable duties and trade measures.
– The importer of record.
– The final recipient.
– Whether the goods require additional government agency clearance.
For international sellers, the practical shift is clear: your shipping data must be complete before the parcel reaches the United States.
## Recalculate your landed costs
The proposal could increase the cost of each low-value shipment. Your landed cost model may need to include:
– Customs duty.
– Section 122 or other applicable duties where relevant.
– Merchandise processing charges and other customs fees.
– Customs broker fees.
– Single transaction or continuous bond costs.
– Postal or carrier handling charges.
– Returns, storage and delay costs.
– U.S. state sales tax obligations where applicable.
For example, assume a UK seller sends a $600 product to a U.S. customer through a non-postal carrier.
A simplified estimate might look like this:
– Customs value: $600.
– Illustrative duty rate of 12%: $72.
– Broker handling fee: $30.
– Other carrier or processing charges: $18.
– Estimated customs-related cost before sales tax: $120.
The seller may therefore need to absorb or recover an additional **$120**, rather than treating the $600 product price as the complete delivery cost.
The duty rate in this example is illustrative only. The actual result depends on classification, origin, trade remedies and the shipment route. Do not use a flat percentage for every product.
State sales tax is a separate issue. Customs duty does not replace sales tax registration, collection or reporting obligations. Marketplace facilitator rules may cause Amazon, eBay or another platform to collect tax, but you still need records that reconcile platform reports, customer locations and returns.
## Prepare for Entry Type 13 postal data
Entry Type 13 is designed for eligible international mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less.
In addition to the information generally required for Entry Type 11, the proposed process would require:
– Shipper or sender identity and address.
– Postal tracking number.
– Product description.
– Country of origin.
– HTSUS classification.
– Quantity and weight where relevant.
– Customs value.
– Duty calculation.
– Importer of record details.
– Consignee and final deliver-to information where applicable.
The carrier would also need to provide the matching tracking number on the inward manifest.
This creates a data-matching requirement. The tracking number in your seller or fulfilment system must match the number transmitted by the foreign postal operator and carrier.
A mismatch could cause delays, manual review or difficulty proving that the correct shipment was entered.
## Protect your postal fulfilment process
The proposal would require eligible mail shipments to be entered on or before the date of importation. If a shipment remains unentered in CBP custody for 15 days, it could be deemed voluntarily abandoned.
That may lead to destruction or return through U.S. Postal Service procedures.
This is particularly important if you use:
– Royal Mail or other national postal operators.
– International fulfilment centres.
– Low-cost postal delivery from the UK, EU, Canada or Australia.
– Direct-to-consumer Shopify fulfilment.
– Marketplace orders shipped individually from overseas.
Review your service-level agreements now. Confirm who is responsible for:
– Preparing the customs entry.
– Acting as importer of record.
– Supplying the HTSUS code.
– Paying duties and fees.
– Obtaining a bond.
– Monitoring customs holds.
– Responding before the 15-day period expires.
Do not assume that your marketplace or postal carrier automatically accepts responsibility for every customs requirement.
## Review your U.S. importer of record structure
The proposal is especially relevant to sellers who ship into the United States without a permanent U.S. establishment. If you do not have a U.S. entity, your customs broker, carrier or another party may currently act as importer of record on your behalf.
The proposed bond requirements for Entry Types 11 and 13 could change how those arrangements work in practice. A continuous basic importation and entry bond, or a single transaction bond, would need to be in place for the relevant shipments.
You should review:
– Who is named as importer of record on your current shipments.
– Whether that party is willing and able to obtain the required bond.
– Whether the importer of record has sufficient information to file on or before the date of importation.
– How duty and fee liability is allocated between you, your broker and your customer.
– What happens if a shipment is held, abandoned or returned.
If your broker or carrier currently absorbs these responsibilities as part of a bundled service, confirm whether that will continue under the proposed rules. Bundled arrangements can obscure who is legally responsible when something goes wrong.
## Check your product data and classification
Accurate product data becomes more important under the proposal. CBP will receive more shipment-level information, and mismatches between declared data and the physical goods could trigger delays or penalties.
Review your product catalogue for:
– Correct HTSUS classification for each product.
– Accurate country of origin.
– Consistent product descriptions across sales, fulfilment and customs records.
– Declared values that reflect the actual transaction value.
– Any goods subject to additional government agency requirements, such as FDA, FCC or CPSC rules.
Errors that previously went unnoticed in a high-volume, low-value postal stream may become more visible when entries are filed electronically with more detailed data.
## Understand the bond and liquidated damages exposure
The proposal would require a single transaction bond or continuous basic importation and entry bond for Entry Types 11 and 13. It also introduces a proposed minimum liquidated damages amount of **$1,000** for specified bond breaches.
Liquidated damages are not the same as duties. They are a separate financial exposure that can arise when bond conditions are breached, for example through failure to file, failure to pay or incorrect entry data.
For sellers shipping many low-value parcels, even a modest number of breaches could create meaningful exposure. This is another reason to confirm exactly who holds the bond and who is responsible for compliance under your current arrangements.
## Practical steps to take before 7 December 2026
You do not need to wait for the final rule to act. Consider the following steps:
1. **Map your current shipment flows.** Identify which orders move by postal versus non-postal carriers, and which fall under $2,500.
2. **Confirm your importer of record.** Establish in writing who acts as importer of record and who holds the bond.
3. **Audit your product data.** Check HTSUS codes, origin and descriptions for your top-selling products.
4. **Recalculate landed costs.** Update your pricing and margin models for duty, broker fees, bond costs and handling charges.
5. **Review carrier and broker agreements.** Clarify responsibility for filing, bonds, holds and the 15-day abandonment rule.
6. **Check your tracking data flow.** Make sure the tracking number in your system will match the number transmitted by the postal operator or carrier.
7. **Decide whether to comment.** If the proposal creates material cost or operational problems for your business, consider submitting a comment before the deadline.
## Key dates to note
| Date | Event |
|—|—|
| 29 August 2025 | Duty-free de minimis treatment suspended for imports from all countries |
| 8 October 2026 | CBP publishes Low-Value Shipments Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| 7 December 2026 | Public comment deadline |
| 1 July 2027 | Scheduled termination of de minimis under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act |
## Final thoughts
CBP’s Low-Value Shipments proposal is a structural change to how goods valued at $2,500 or less enter the United States. It does not take effect immediately, but the direction of travel is clear: more data, earlier filing, formal entry procedures and bond requirements for shipments that previously moved with minimal friction.
International sellers should use the period before the comment deadline to confirm their importer of record arrangements, audit their product and tracking data, and update their landed cost models. Waiting until a final rule is published may leave too little time to adjust carrier contracts, bond arrangements and pricing.
