For many K-Beauty brands, the U.S. de minimis framework had long served as a practical gateway into the American market. By allowing low-value imports under a certain threshold to move through customs more simply, it became an essential part of many cross-border business models. Direct-to-consumer website orders, small-value TikTok Shop sales, influencer seeding, PR sample shipments, and test orders all benefited from this structure.
That environment has now changed.
The U.S. government announced the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value shipments on a global basis in July 2025, and CBP has since clarified that, as of August 29, 2025, duty-free de minimis treatment is no longer available for shipments under $800. This position was reaffirmed again in February 2026.
This is more than a minor cost increase.
Low-value shipments sent directly to U.S. consumers are no longer operating under the same cost assumptions as before. Duties, customs-related expenses, and additional operational burdens must now be factored into each shipment much more carefully. What was once a relatively efficient way to test the U.S. market through small-volume direct shipping has become a model that requires much more precise planning around pricing, margin structure, fulfillment, and channel operations.
For K-Beauty brands, the impact is especially broad. The effect is not limited to regular e-commerce orders. It also extends to PR samples, influencer seeding, replacement shipments, and small test runs—areas that were often managed with relative ease because of their low shipment value. The question is no longer simply whether a product can be shipped into the U.S., but how it should be imported and whether the overall cost structure still makes sense.
As the advantages of de minimis continue to weaken, U.S. market strategy is naturally shifting away from a direct-shipping-only model and toward more localized, operationally optimized structures. Brands that want to continue growing in the U.S. must now think more strategically about local warehousing, fulfillment design by channel, customs risk, and SKU-level pricing adjustments. In other words, this is no longer just about shipping products overseas. It is about building a system that can support sustainable sales in the current regulatory environment.
At CGETC, we work with brands to develop practical responses to this shift based on their specific business needs. From U.S.-based logistics operations and channel-specific fulfillment planning to customs-conscious operational design, the focus today is not simply on moving products, but on creating structures that can continue to work under changing market conditions.
The end of de minimis is certainly a challenge. But it is also a turning point. And in many cases, it will make the gap between prepared brands and unprepared brands much more visible.