On Wednesday, July 30, the White House announced a new executive order suspending the de minimis exemption for commercial shipments globally. All goods sent into the U.S., including those previously exempt under the $800 value threshold, will be subject to applicable duties and tariffs starting August 29th.1
Two new duty structures will apply to all incoming shipments: an ad valorem duty or a specific duty ranging from $80-$200 per item, both determined by the applicable IEEPA tariff rates assigned to the package's country of origin.
For decades, this de minimis loophole fueled the growth of borderless, low-cost sourcing, manufacturing, and fulfillment. At the same time, it enabled some $64B+ of commerce to enter the U.S. per year while avoiding applicable duties and subverting jobs and revenue from domestic logistics infrastructure. That vantage is now over. And the implications are massive.
This move comes nearly two years ahead of schedule. The global end of de minimis was originally set to take effect on July 1, 2027, under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act2 that was signed into law July 4th.
But this timeline has now been accelerated to August 29th—a development that is not entirely unexpected. Recent weeks have shown growing indications that the administration would act unilaterally to eliminate de minimis by year’s end. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has also been actively preparing for this possibility with new screening systems scheduled to go live by August.3
While the conclusive outcome of these trade negotiations is far from final, it is abundantly clear that the United States intends to close any and all loopholes that allow brands to import without paying.
The next era of global fulfillment is already upon us. Brands shipping internationally, resulting in slower and more expensive packages, now no longer have reason to do so as the tax benefit associated has been eliminated. These brands will likely rapidly move their inventory in the U.S., for faster, cheaper, localized fulfillment, with the same duties they will be paying either way.
A similar situation unfolded this past December when Mexico ended the IMMEX program, drastically increasing the cost to import textiles and apparel from Mexico into the United States. Stord helped reroute millions of units for several brands, and onboarded the high-growth apparel brand, True Classic, shipping orders out of our Hebron, KY fulfillment center within just 19 days. That same speed and operational competency will be the crucial delineator preventing brands from experiencing costly disruptions and souring customer experiences.
These recent events—and now, the accelerated end of de minimis—highlight the need for brands to build resilience and flexibility. Brands must assemble a network of systems, people, and partners that can move, scale, and evolve with every change.
This is why Stord exists.
We have built a robust and agile fulfillment and commerce enablement platform precisely for arenas like this. We rerouted and moved tens of millions of units out of Mexico during the IMMEX import update this past December. We rapidly repositioned inventory from Canada into the U.S. amidst industry-shaking changes.
We continue to help brands move their products with full confidence across borders without a single disruption to delivery timelines and while protecting their bottom line.
This is what we’ve been building for the past decade. This is what our customers are benefiting from. They aren’t scrambling to react to sudden increases in parcel costs. They’re not facing the whiplash others are seeing from erratic shifts in policy.
We’ve built a system that levels the playing field for brands of all sizes across all verticals, allowing us to quickly respond to any upheaval without sacrificing margins or the consumer experience. We closely monitor impending or possible government changes to stay informed and prepared for changes before they even hit front-page news.
We position brands ahead of disruptions. In a fundamentally reactive environment, we are built to be proactive.
And that matters now more than ever.
With the de minimis exemption nearing its end, now is the time for deliberate, strategic action. Here’s how brands can win in this next era of global fulfillment:
Nearshoring and Domestic Fulfillment
With duties now unavoidable, the location of your fulfillment network becomes a strategic lever for speed and cost control. Shifting inventory closer to your U.S. customers, whether through nearshoring or full domestic fulfillment, significantly shortens delivery lead times and reduces last-mile delivery costs compared to international shipping. While future tariffs remain a possibility anywhere, having inventory already within the U.S. gives brands a critical edge in speed, responsiveness, and cost efficiency. To fully realize these advantages, brands need infrastructure built on multi-node warehousing solutions, integrated fulfillment, and seamless routing that ties directly into your U.S. distribution network. Partnering with a reliable provider who already has the necessary infrastructure in place is the fastest path to resilience.
Multi-sourcing Supply
Overreliance on a single supplier or region is a liability. As trade policies tighten and geopolitical uncertainty rises, brands need to adjust sourcing strategies. That means expanding into alternative markets like Southeast Asia, India, Eastern Europe, and Latin America to create sourcing optionality and agility. To make this work, you need an integrated fulfillment and commerce enablement system that can pivot and adapt with your brand in real time so shifting origins doesn’t disrupt your downstream operations. The brands that win are those that build resilience into the fabric of their supply chains.
Intelligent Rerouting
As regulatory costs and port congestion grow, brands need to rethink traditional import routes. Intelligent rerouting means using technology to dynamically select lanes, optimize duties, and avoid chokepoints. With access to flexible freight networks and real-time routing intelligence, you can shift SKUs mid-transit, minimize landed costs, and maintain compliance all without sacrificing visibility or control.
Strategic Stockpiling
When the rules change overnight, inventory becomes your insurance policy. Strategic stockpiling gives brands room to breathe. It buffers against tariff hikes, protects velocity during policy shifts, and offers the flexibility to meet demand without delay. But static storage won’t cut it. You need a distributed, elastic network that can scale on demand, shift inventory where it’s needed most, and accelerate fulfillment when the moment calls for it. Stockpiling isn’t static – it’s about being ready.
Leveraging Bonded Warehouses and FTZs
Bonded warehouses and FTZs are facilities that let you defer or eliminate duties until goods are sold, assembled, or shipped into domestic commerce. For brands operating in high-value categories or with complex import dynamics, these solutions offer flexibility without financial strain. For many brands this can be a useful strategy to avoid a short-term cash challenge from the new tariffs and de minimis suspension. But execution matters. You need integrated systems, customs expertise, and operational visibility to capture these advantages without opening the door to delays or penalties.
These strategies are not exhaustive nor are they a one-size-fits-all blueprint. The current state of global commerce is a multi-dimensional chessboard where winning requires both precise algorithmic thinking and hard-earned operational experience and scale. There is no single path to building a sourcing-through-fulfillment model that shields your brand from regulatory shocks like the end of de minimis. But the common thread across every resilient strategy is this: build a fulfillment model that’s flexible, fast, and fundamentally diversified. One where no single point of failure holds your brand hostage.
The rules have changed but it does not mean the game is over.
E-commerce will not slow down or disappear because of these changes. Demand is still growing. Consumer adoption is still accelerating. What will disappear are the brands that fail to adapt to a constantly evolving environment shaped by trade, labor, climate, conflict, and any number of unforeseen changes on the horizon.
If you are concerned that your current system is too rigid to keep up, let's talk. Our team of experts will gladly walk you through actionable paths to pursue, potentially with Stord or with other providers. We are here to help.
