What is the de minimis law, what does it have to do with the United States and how does it affect your international shipments from Colombia?
As of August 29, 2025, a key rule for international trade between Colombia and the United States changes.
Before explaining what is going to change as of August 29, 2025, I want to start by touching on an important topic: “De minimis” or “De minimis Law” exemption.
This expression refers to the fact that, there is an amount (in USD) that allows that when a package arrives in another country it is free of taxes, that is to say, that customs does not make any additional charge to the addressee for receiving it.
This “de minimis” varies depending on each country, as it is not the same for all, but speaking of the United States in particular, the amount was USD 800.
What do you mean the amount was 800 USD?
Very simple, this means that if you, from Colombia, sent a package (a gift, a sample, a return or a sale) to the United States and the value of the merchandise was between 1 USD and 800 USD, who received the package NO had to pay anything for taxes or customs duties.
Now, if the value of the goods you were sending was between USD 800 and USD 2,499, the recipient (or person receiving the package) will YES paid the corresponding duty + VAT, but it was still a simplified import procedure, something not so complex in reality.
The last range that the United States had was if the value of the merchandise exceeded USD 2,500 because in this case, the consignee would IF would have to go to a Broker to release the merchandise and receive it at destination, and without this process, customs clearance would not be possible.
And then…. what changed?
Well, with the latest changes made by the Trump administration, the Minimis Act is going to disappear as of August 29 of this year, which indicates that, no matter if the value of the merchandise is USD 1 or USD 800, it will still generate taxes upon arrival at destination and it is the importer (or the recipient) who will have to pay them.
We will now do a simple exercise:
Package data:
Origin: Colombia
Destination: United States
Value of the merchandise: 90 USD
Carrier: DHL, FedEx or UPS
Customs, upon receipt of the package, would charge the consignee:
- Reciprocal tariff: 10% = 9 USD
- General tariff (according to tariff item): example 5% = 4.5 USD
- VAT (Depends on the State, but let’s assume 7%): 6.30 USD
- Value of conveyor processing or handling: 15 – 25 USD approx (depending on the carrier)
Adding the above, the recipient would have to pay an approximate of 45 USD approx.
Additional details:
- VAT is not the same in all U.S. states. Make sure you know the %, depending on where you want to ship to.
- The carriers charge an additional value for “release” or Processing Fee. You should consider this cost when estimating taxes.
Conclusion
The above measure affects ALL shipments leaving Colombia to the United States. If you have an online store, an eCommerce business or sell merchandise to that destination, do not forget to take into account this new regulation so that it does not generate inconveniences with your customers or alter your shipping cost estimation.
Remember that the most important thing is: Be informed
