From 29 August 2025, all US-bound TUNL Economy and Express shipments will be impacted by new US tariffs. We want you to be prepared so your US orders keep moving without disruption.

What’s Changing

From 29 August 2025:

• No more duty-free threshold for US imports – the de minimis of $800 has been removed, and all shipments will be subject to tariffs and fees.
• The tariffs apply regardless of DDP (duties paid upfront) or DAP (duties paid on delivery).
• These tariffs are combined (cumulative): 30% reciprocal (IEEPA) tariff (South Africa origin) plus the product-specific US tariff. Check your HS code tariffs to understand the full cost.
• Tariffs are the same as duties - there are no import taxes in the US. Each shipment will also have clearance fees applied.

Learn more about de minimis

Learn more about DDP and DAP

Key Dates

• Thursday 7 August - Reciprocal (IEEPA) tariffs introduced
• Tuesday 19 August, 17:00 SAST – Final warehouse cut-off for the last duty-free Economy console.
• Wednesday 20 August – Make sure your site is set up to collect duties and taxes for all DDP orders to the US – this means you won’t be out of pocket for the duties and taxes if your parcel arrives after 29 August.
• Tuesday 26 August, 17:00 SAST – Warehouse cut-off for the first Economy console with tariffs applied.
• Friday 29 August, 12:01 ET – US officially ends duty-free imports under $800; new tariffs apply to all Economy and Express shipments.

Economy Shipments

• 19 August, 17:00 – Final warehouse cut-off for the last duty-free Economy console.
• After this last duty-free Economy console, it will be DDP only (duties paid upfront) – there will be no DAP (duties paid on delivery) option for Economy. Collecting duties from US customers on delivery isn’t possible.
• TUNL will collect duties and taxes on the platform during booking and pay them to US Customs.

Express Shipments

• You can choose DDP (duties paid upfront) or DAP (duties paid on delivery).
• If shipping DDP, unless you’re on Shopify Grow with TUNL Duties and Taxes at Checkout, you’ll need to update your rates to include duties and taxes.
• If shipping DAP, your shipping rates remain the same, but your customers will pay duties and taxes directly to the carrier on delivery.

Example Economy Costs

• Product: R1000 Women’s Sneaker
• US product duties/tariffs: 12.5%
• SA origin reciprocal duties/tariff: 30%
• Total duties/tariffs: 42.5% × R1000 = R425
• Clearance + Admin fees: $2.63 (R46.45) + 10% of duties (R42.50) = R88.95
• Total duties & fees: R513.95
• Total landed price = R1 513.95

You can use this external tool to check your product’s tariff percentage: https://tariffs.flexport.com — it will help you estimate duties (Please ignore the $33 fees, these are formal clearance fees, UPS/FedEx charge the $2.63 automated entry fees on shipments < $2500 as per the example above).

What You Need to Do

Shopify Live Rates

• If you’re already using live rates with duties and taxes enabled, you’re all set.
• From 5pm on 19 August, customers can choose to pay duties and taxes at checkout.
• How to enable Duties and Taxes on live rates.

Static / Fixed / Flat Rates on Shopify or other platforms

Be ready by 20 August to collect duties and taxes if you want to bill customers for these costs upfront:

1. Find your HS code – Use the TUNL HS Code Lookup (10-digit code).
2. Calculate the tariff – Use Flexport’s tool (ignore listed freight fees). If you have multiple HS codes, decide whether you’ll use an average or the largest tariff.
3. Work out the full landed cost:
4. 1. Express: product tariff + 30% reciprocal tariff + carrier fees ($2.63) + guarantee fee ($2 + 20% of duties).
   2. Economy: product tariff + 30% reciprocal tariff + carrier fees ($2.63) + guarantee fee (10% of duties).

* Note that these are the usual fees; other fees may apply depending on the carrier, destination and parcel size.

4. Add full landed cost to your eCommerce pricing:
5. 1. Adjust shipping rates for US customers.
   2. Or adjust product prices (you can declare product price only when booking).

Tips & Learnings

Some merchants are raising US prices, others are adjusting global pricing and offering discounts to regions outside the USA, and some are preparing direct customer communication to explain the change — all to protect sales and customer satisfaction.

Adjusting Shopify Product Prices for USA Customers Only

Steps:

1. In Shopify, create a new market for the USA only (remove the USA from your existing “International” market).
2. Follow these instructions to adjust product prices for the USA market only:  https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/international/pricing/price-adjustments

Limitations:

• Shopify generally allows up to 3 markets on most plans (you can pay for more markets on any plan - Shopify Plus has an unlimited number of markets)
• For most stores, this will be enough: you can have a market for South Africa, USA, and International/Rest of World.
• This solution works on all Shopify plans, not just Grow.

Shopify Duty Calculator

Please note: if you are using Shopify’s native tool to calculate Duties and Import Taxes, they have not yet updated it to remove the de minimis. We have not received a clear confirmation on when this update will be made, but we assume it will take effect around 29 August.

Keep in mind that Shopify’s calculations are estimates only. They do not include all carrier fees and are not guaranteed. For the most reliable experience, we recommend using the TUNL Guaranteed Duties and Taxes solution at checkout.

Don’t Miss the Cut-Offs

If your Economy shipment isn’t at our warehouse by 17:00 19 August it will need to go Express or be subject to the new DDP rules.

Make sure you are ready to collect duties and taxes from 20 August.

You’ve worked hard to earn your place in the U.S. market. We’ll do everything we can to help you keep it.

The rules may be shifting, but our commitment to you isn’t.

— The TUNL Team

Updated on: 18/08/2025