IMAG Executive Director Kate Muth talks tariffs, trade and uncertainty in the June 30 episode of Global eCommerce Leaders Podcast.

IMAG Executive Director Kate Muth highlights changes to de minimis in the U.S. and other countries as well as EU customs reforms in a recent episode of Postal Hub Podcast.

The European Commission recently issued Guidance for Member States and Trade on the €3 temporary customs duty set to take effect July 1, providing a bit more clarity on the end of duty de minimis and the €3 duty on distance goods less than €150 entering the European Union (EU). On July 1, the EU will end the duty-free importation of goods from non-EU countries. All business-to-consumer goods valued at €150 or less entering from outside the EU will pay €3 per item until July

The Court of International Trade (CIT) judge overseeing the issuance of refunds of International Emergency Economic Powers (Act) tariffs issued two orders recently that question the slow pace of the refund process, as well as concern for those importers with entries not yet addressed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP developed the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) program to refund IEEPA tariffs to qualifying importers. Phase 1, which wa

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed an executive order that scraps federal taxes on foreign purchases, reversing course on an unpopular tax on goods that are bought on ecommerce platforms. The order makes immediate changes to Programa Remessa Conforme (PRC) by eliminating the federal taxes ​on foreign purchases worth up to $50. There are no longer duties on parcels below USD $50, and on purchases from $50 to $3,000, the duty is 60 percent, with a deductible amount of

The European Commission has issued an updated guidance that sets the course for “a smooth and effective” implementation of the revised European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on December 30, 2026, (for medium and large enterprises). Under the EUDR, any operator or trader who places on the EU market cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, or rubber, as well as some of their derived products, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently defo

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) went live on April 20 with its automated tariff refund system. Phase 1 of the Consolidated Administrative and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system allows the importer of record (IOR) or customs brokers to upload a detailed list of the tariffs paid under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court ruled were unlawful. In this first phase, CBP will process only unliquidated entries and those within 80 day

Brazil is in the initial stages of a multi-year tax reform plan that will replace the country’s complex and fragmented system – often called a “tax jungle” – with a more simplified VAT-like system. The new plan replaces the ICMS (State Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) and the ISS (Municipal Service Tax) with the IBS (Tax on Goods and Services). The PIS and COFINS (federal social contributions) will be replaced by the CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services). The tax

PostEurop, a consortium of European postal operators, has flagged a number of issues in the proposed European Union customs changes that will prove problematic for posts. The European Union (EU) and the EU Parliament reached a pact last month on an EU customs framework, agreeing on legislation that would remove the €150 customs duty exemption, create a single EU customs data hub, as well as the formation of an overall EU customs authority to oversee the hub. In addition,

The Postal Service today filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for a limited price change on its domestic competitive products of 8 percent to offset increased transportation and fuel-related costs. International competitive services are not impacted. If approved by the PRC, the limited price change would take effect April 26 and run until January 17, 2027, which is the presumed effective date for the annual price adjustment for competitive products.From the f

A federal appeals court denied the government’s case that sought to delay the process for refunding billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down on February 20. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit opened the next phase in the refund process by sending it to the Court of International Trade (CIT). The Supreme Court ruled last month that the tariffs that President Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IE

Two bills with implications for importers were recently introduced in Congress: The Secure Revenue Clearance Channel Act , introduced by Reps. Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) and Don Beyer (D-VA), is aimed at the express consignment operators and the backlog of goods at express ports since the end of the de minimis exemption in August 2025. The bill, which makes provisions for express consignment operators only, includes language to create a 20% ad valorem rate on merchandise. Thi

he European Union (EU) will abolish the €150 customs duty exemption for low-value goods imported from non-EU countries from Jul1, 2026. At that time, the EU will apply a €3 customs duty on parcels entering the EU with a value of €150 or less. The duty will be levied per-item type (customs tariff classification), not per-parcel. So, a package containing multiple different items/tariff classification – a common type of purchase from an ecommerce marketplace – will pay €3 for

USPS International Rate Changes Approved The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) late on Friday issued its order approving the Postal Service's proposed rate and classification changes as scheduled, effective January 18, 2026. the PRC approved the two classification changes in the filing, which both impact international services. The 13-page narrative of the order is dedicated to addressing these classification changes, as well as IMAG comments to the commission. IMAG had ur

The Council of the European Union (Council) agreed to apply a fixed customs duty of €3 on small parcels valued at less than €150 entering the EU, effective July 1, 2026. It will apply to all goods arriving from non-EU sellers registered in the EU’s import one-stop shop (IOSS) for value-added tax purposes. The duty would apply per product type, based on six-digit tariff codes. With the duty fee assessed at the HS code level and not at the package/shipment level, it means a

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says in a recent news release that it has collected over $1 billion in duties on more than 246 million low-cost shipments since the administration began phasing out the de minimis loophole in May 2025 (China and Hong Kong on May 2 and the rest of the world on August 29), “recovering a record amount of revenue that had previously gone uncollected.” Since de minimis ended for China and Hong Kong, CBP seizures of unsafe and non-compliant low

The International Mailers Advisory Group (IMAG) submitted comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) in the competitive products rate and classification case, urging the regulator to issue a timely ruling. The Postal Service submitted a filing on November 14 to raise rates on its competitive products and to make classification changes on two international products. USPS set an effective date of January 18, 2026, for the new rates to take effect. IMAG’s comments re

On November 14 the Postal Service filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission proposed price changes on its competitive products, including the published prices for its international products. The new prices would take effect on January 18, 2026. USPS is not raising prices on its market-dominant products (Mailing Services) in January, so First-Class Mail International will not change. However, international products that are part of the competitive products category, which

IMAG Executive Director Kate Muth gave listeners of the Postal Hub Podcast an update on tariffs, de minimis, and international low value parcels during the November 11 episode ( Episode 382 ). The discussion touched on the recent Supreme Court oral arguments regarding the tariffs case, as well as other issues of interest to international mailers and shippers, such as low value goods in the international postal stream and EU customs reforms and parcel fees.

The European Commission has confirmed that the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will go ahead without delay. Large businesses must comply from December 30, 2025, with a six-month grace period before fines are enforced, while micro and small enterprises follow from 30 December 2026, the Woodland Group reported . Where authorities identify potential non-compliance before these dates, they will issue warnings and recommendations to help operators achieve full co