The de minimis exemption, which allowed shipments valued under $800 to enter the country duty-free, came to an end globally on Friday.
The provision had been slated to end in July of 2027 but an executive order from President Trump eliminated it much sooner, giving businesses, customs officials and postal services less time to prepare.
Companies big and small have used the exemption to save money on digital fulfillment, and the change could lead to higher prices.
Small business owners on Etsy, eBay and Shopify, for example, relied on the provision to support their marketplace businesses.
For nearly a decade, shipments valued under $800 were allowed to enter the country virtually duty-free and with less oversight. Now, those shipments from the likes of Tapestry, Lululemon and just about any other retailer with an online presence will be tariffed and processed in the same way that larger packages are handled.
In May, Trump ended the exemption for goods coming from China and Hong Kong, and on July 30 he expanded the rollback to all countries, calling it a “catastrophic loophole” that’s been used to evade tariffs and get “unsafe or below-market” products into the U.S.