AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Yes. The $800 de minimis exemption, which let low-value parcels into the US duty-free, has been suspended for all countries since August 2025 under Executive Order 14324, continued by Executive Order 14388 from 24 February 2026, and suspended indefinitely for all modes by CBP rules published on 24 June 2026. A parcel of Nigerian goods now pays all applicable duties, including the 12.5% Section 301 tariff on products of Nigeria, whatever its value.
What changed, in order
For years, Section 321 of the Tariff Act let a shipment worth $800 or less enter the US without duty or a full customs entry. That is why a box of fabric, spices or beauty products sent from Lagos to a buyer in Atlanta or Houston often arrived with nothing to pay. That route has closed in stages.
| Date | Measure | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Jul 2025 | Executive Order 14324 | Suspends duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries, from August 2025 |
| 20 Feb 2026 | Executive Order 14388 | Continues the suspension for goods entered from 12:01 a.m. eastern time on 24 February 2026, after earlier tariff orders were withdrawn |
| 24 Jun 2026 | Two CBP interim final rules | Indefinitely suspend the $800 administrative exemption for all modes, including mail |
| 24 Jul 2026 | CBP postal rule | New postal informal entry process for mail valued at $2,500 or less |
| 1 Jul 2027 | One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025) | Terminates the statutory de minimis exemption, as summarised by KPMG |
Executive Order 14388 is plain on non-postal goods: all applicable duties, taxes, fees and charges apply "regardless of value, country of origin, mode of transportation, or method of entry", and the entry must be filed in CBP’s ACE system by a qualified party. In other words, there is no value below which a commercial parcel from Nigeria is waved through.
What a small parcel from Nigeria pays now
Two layers of duty can apply. The first is the ordinary rate for the product’s line in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The second, for products of Nigeria, is the 12.5% Section 301 tariff that USTR applied from 12:01 a.m. eastern time on 24 July 2026, except for products listed in the notice’s annexes. Our article on the current US tariff on Nigerian goods explains how that rate came about.
Worked example
Example only: a Houston boutique orders ankara fabric worth $400 from a Lagos supplier, sent by express courier. Suppose the fabric’s HTS line carries an ordinary duty of 5% (your broker will look up the real rate).
- Ordinary duty: 5% of $400 = $20
- Section 301 tariff: 12.5% of $400 = $50
- Total duty: $70, or 17.5% of the value
- Plus whatever the courier charges to clear the parcel, which is set by the courier and should be asked for in writing before you ship
Before August 2025 the same parcel would usually have entered duty-free. On thin retail margins, $70 on $400 of stock can decide whether a product line is still worth importing.
Courier, freight or post: how the entry is made
How the duty is collected depends on how the parcel travels.
- Express courier and air freight: the shipment needs a standard formal or informal entry. Under 19 CFR 143.21, informal entry is available for shipments not exceeding $2,500, except articles valued over $250 that fall in Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV, of the HTS. Ask your broker or courier whether the Nigerian Section 301 tariff pushes your parcel into that exception.
- International mail: from 24 July 2026 a designated filer (the owner, the purchaser or a licensed customs broker) uses the new postal informal entry for mail worth $2,500 or less. CBP officers no longer prepare entry forms and duty is not collected on delivery. Instead the filer submits a monthly spreadsheet with 10-digit tariff numbers and pays through Pay.gov by the seventh day of the following month, according to KPMG’s summary of the rule.
- Exceptions to the postal route: mail subject to quotas, antidumping or countervailing duties, Chapter 98 or 99 duties, or other agencies’ requirements must use formal entry, with a 120-day delayed compliance window.
Food is a separate question. FDA prior notice applies to imported food whatever the duty position, including international mail, which must be notified before it is sent. From 1 October 2026 a mail notice also needs the mail service name and tracking number. See FDA prior notice for food from Nigeria.
Who pays, and how to set terms with your supplier
The importer of record owes the duty. If you are buying, that is usually you. If a Nigerian seller ships direct to US consumers on delivered terms, the seller (or its agent) must arrange entry and payment. Many small Nigerian sellers have not yet adjusted their prices or shipping terms, so agree in writing:
- Whether the price is for goods only or delivered with duty paid.
- The HTS code the supplier is declaring and the value on the commercial invoice, which must be the real transaction value.
- The country of origin. The Section 301 tariff follows origin, not the place of shipment.
- Who files the entry and who settles the courier’s clearance charge.
What to check first
- The HTS line and ordinary duty for each product you import.
- Whether the product sits in an annex exemption to the Section 301 action.
- Whether your shipments will travel by courier, freight or post, since the entry route differs.
- Whether a customs broker should handle your entries now that every parcel needs one.
- Any CBP or presidential notice published after October 2026. These rules changed four times in 12 months.
Where Pryme fits
Duty on every parcel makes landed cost harder to predict, so it helps to see the naira and dollar sides clearly. A Pryme Business Account, which can be opened from the US, holds USD and NGN with local account details. Swap shows the rate and the fee before you approve, and multicurrency accounts let you pay a Lagos supplier in naira while keeping dollars for duty and freight. Outside Nigeria, Pryme’s services are provided through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
Is the $800 de minimis rule gone for Nigeria?
It is suspended for all countries, Nigeria included. CBP rules of 24 June 2026 suspended the $800 exemption indefinitely for all modes, and the statutory exemption is set to end on 1 July 2027.
Do I pay duty on a $100 parcel from Lagos?
Yes, if the goods carry a duty. All applicable duties apply regardless of value, including the 12.5% Section 301 tariff on products of Nigeria unless the product is exempt.
How do I pay duty on a parcel sent by post from Nigeria?
Since 24 July 2026 a designated filer submits a monthly spreadsheet of postal imports worth $2,500 or less and pays through Pay.gov by the seventh of the following month. Duty is no longer collected by the carrier on delivery.
Does this affect foodstuffs sent from Nigeria?
Yes. Food pays any duty that applies, and FDA prior notice is required separately, including for mail, unless an exclusion such as food carried for personal use applies.
Sources
- White House: Executive Order 14388, Continuing the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries (20 Feb 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- KPMG TaxNewsFlash: CBP suspends de minimis exemption (Jun 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Federal Register: Indefinite suspension of the de minimis exemption for mail shipments and new postal informal entry (24 Jun 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Federal Register: USTR notice of actions in Section 301 investigations of various economies (28 Jul 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- eCFR: 19 CFR 143.21, Merchandise eligible for informal entry · accessed Oct 2026
- eCFR: 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart I, Prior notice of imported food · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.