The end of duty-free trade is here. As low-value exemptions disappear across the EU, US and UK, product data has become the deciding factor in who moves goods cleanly and who gets caught out.
Excerpt:
For more than a decade, the global cross-border economy ran on a simple assumption: small parcels move freely. Low-value exemptions, known as de minimis thresholds, allowed hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods to cross borders without attracting customs duty.
That era is ending.
In 2025, the United States eliminated its $800 de minimis exemption. On 1 July 2026, the
European Union introduces a flat-rate customs duty on all sub-€150 parcels. The United
Kingdom has signalled the removal of its own £135 threshold by March 2029. Across every
major market, regulators are simultaneously raising the bar on the quality of product data
required to clear goods at the border.
These are not isolated policy changes. They represent a structural shift in how governments treat cross-border commerce, and a profound challenge for every brand, marketplace, carrier, and freight forwarder that has built its business on the assumption of frictionless trade.
But within this challenge lies a defining opportunity. The organisations that respond by building genuine trade intelligence capability — accurate product data, real-time duty calculation, landed cost visibility — will not merely survive the transition. They will use it to establish competitive advantage that compounds over time.
First published: 2nd July 2026