US customs duties for an e-commerce brand are set by three things: the product's classification in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, its customs value and its country of origin. Duty is paid by the importer of record when goods enter the US, it is separate from state sales tax, and since the US has no federal VAT there is nothing to reclaim later, so duty belongs in your landed cost and your price.
This guide covers how each of those three inputs works, how duties differ from taxes, what changed with tariffs and low-value parcels in 2025 and 2026, how to choose between DDP and DAP shipping terms, and how we build duty into a US pricing model. Theory Road is not a customs broker, attorney or accountant: we explain the system so you can have a better conversation with the licensed people who make these calls.
What US Customs Duty Actually Is.
Customs duty is a federal tax on imported goods, assessed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) when merchandise is formally or informally entered. The importer of record is the party legally responsible for the entry: declaring the classification, value and origin correctly, paying duties and fees, and keeping records. A foreign brand can act as a non-resident importer of record in many cases, typically with a customs bond, or it can use a US entity or its US buyer. Which setup fits is a question for your customs broker and attorney.
On top of the duty itself, formal entries usually carry a Merchandise Processing Fee, and ocean shipments carry a Harbor Maintenance Fee. Your broker charges for filing each entry, and a bond has its own cost. On a small first shipment they add up, and founders routinely leave them out.
HTS Classification: The Decision a Broker Should Make.
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule sorts every product into a numbered heading. The first six digits follow the international Harmonized System that your home customs authority also uses; the US adds digits to reach a ten-digit statistical number. The classification sets the base duty rate and decides whether additional tariff actions apply.
Classification follows the General Rules of Interpretation, and the answer depends on material, function, construction and sometimes how the product is packaged or sold as a set. A product your home authority classified one way may be classified differently in the US at the ten-digit level. This is why classification is a broker's job: they know the rulings history, and CBP can issue a binding ruling in advance when a product is genuinely ambiguous. We ask brands to get classification confirmed in writing before we finalize a US price.
Customs Value and Country of Origin.
Customs value in the US is usually the transaction value: the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the US, with certain additions. Unlike many countries that value imports including international freight and insurance, the US generally excludes international freight and insurance from dutiable value when they are separately identified. Additions can include packing costs, selling commissions, royalties or license fees that are a condition of sale, and assists, such as molds or tooling you supplied to the factory free of charge.
Value gets tricky when a foreign brand ships to its own US subsidiary, because a related-party price has to reflect an arm's-length transaction. That is your accountant's territory as well as your broker's.
Country of origin is where the goods were made or, for products with parts from several countries, where they were last substantially transformed into a new article. Origin is not where you ship from, and it is not where your company is based. A brand headquartered in Germany that manufactures in Vietnam imports goods of Vietnamese origin. Origin drives which tariff actions apply and whether a trade agreement preference is available, and it also controls the country of origin marking on the product itself.
“Duty is not a line you estimate once. It is a number with a date on it, and every US price we build carries that date next to it.”
Duties vs Taxes: No Federal VAT, State Sales Tax Instead.
European and Latin American founders often assume import duty works like import VAT: paid at the border and recovered later. In the US it does not. There is no federal VAT or GST. Duty is a cost of goods, and apart from specific programs such as duty drawback on goods later exported, you do not get it back.
Sales tax is a separate, state-level tax charged to the end buyer. Each state sets its own rules and many localities add their own rates. After the 2018 Wayfair decision, states can require remote sellers, including foreign sellers, to collect once they pass an economic nexus threshold in that state. Marketplace facilitator laws in most states make Amazon and similar marketplaces collect sales tax on sales made through them, but your own Shopify store is your responsibility. Sales tax registration and filing belong with your US accountant.
Tariffs and Low-Value Parcels: What Changed in 2025 and 2026.
At the time of writing, US tariffs have changed repeatedly over 2025 and 2026, with actions announced, adjusted, paused and challenged in court, some applying by country of origin and some by product. We deliberately do not quote rates here, because any rate we printed could be wrong by the time you read it. Treat every duty assumption as provisional and have your broker confirm the current treatment of each HTS line and origin before each purchase order.
The biggest change for direct-to-consumer brands was the end of duty-free de minimis treatment. The US ended it for low-value shipments from China and Hong Kong in May 2025 and suspended it for all countries effective August 29, 2025. A parcel shipped straight from a warehouse abroad to a US customer now faces duties and needs a formal or informal entry. The old model of fulfilling US orders one parcel at a time from overseas, relying on Section 321, is no longer the easy path it was. Many brands now import in bulk to a US warehouse or Amazon fulfillment and pay duty once per shipment.
DDP vs DAP for US E-commerce.
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) and DAP (Delivered at Place) are Incoterms that decide who pays duty and handles import clearance. Under DDP the seller carries duties, taxes and clearance to the destination. Under DAP the seller delivers to the destination and the buyer handles import clearance and pays the duty.
| Question | DDP (seller pays duty) | DAP (buyer pays duty) |
|---|---|---|
| Who is usually importer of record | The seller or its agent | The buyer, or the carrier on the buyer's behalf |
| Customer experience on a DTC order | Price at checkout is final | Carrier may collect duty and a fee at the door |
| Refused deliveries | Rare, because nothing is due on arrival | More common when buyers see unexpected charges |
| Seller's duty exposure | Seller must price duty in and absorb tariff changes | Buyer absorbs changes, seller may lose the sale |
| Best fit | Direct-to-consumer, Amazon inventory, most B2C | B2B shipments to an experienced US importer |
| Setup needed | Bond, broker, possibly a US entity or non-resident setup | Clear terms of sale and buyer's own broker |
For consumer e-commerce we almost always plan around DDP or around bulk import into US inventory, because a surprise bill at the door undoes the paid media that brought the customer. DAP can be the right answer for B2B shipments to a distributor or retailer with its own customs broker.
Step by Step: Building Duty Into Your US Price.
What Usually Goes Wrong.
- The brand copies its home-market tariff code, and the US ten-digit classification turns out to be different, with a different duty.
- The pricing model uses a duty rate from a blog post or an old quote, and a later tariff action changes the real cost before the first container lands.
- Tooling paid for by the brand is left out of customs value, creating an undervaluation problem the broker has to correct.
- A DTC store keeps shipping single parcels from abroad after the de minimis change, and customers receive duty bills at delivery and refuse packages.
- Sales tax is ignored because Amazon collects it, and the brand's own Shopify store crosses economic nexus in a state without registering.
- Origin is assumed to be the brand's home country, when the goods were actually made or substantially transformed elsewhere.
Where Customs Stops and the Commercial Launch Begins.
Your customs broker, freight forwarder and accountant get the product into the country legally and keep the entries clean. That is gated, licensed work, and we coordinate with those advisors rather than replacing them. What they do not do is turn a confirmed landed cost into a US price, a storefront and demand. That is where the commercial work sits: positioning against US competitors, a price that holds margin after advertising, a Shopify store and Amazon listings built for US buyers, paid search and social with tracking that reports cost per order against landed margin, and a restock plan that accounts for duty on every shipment.
Running that launch on top of your broker's confirmed numbers is work Theory Road does, and our US e-commerce launch page shows how the phases fit together. If you are still weighing marketplace against your own store, our comparison of Shopify vs Amazon covers that decision.
How are US customs duties calculated for ecommerce imports?
Duty is calculated from the product's Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification, its customs value and its country of origin. The classification sets the base rate, origin decides which additional tariff actions or trade preferences apply, and the rate is applied to the customs value. Fees such as the Merchandise Processing Fee are added on top. A licensed customs broker should confirm each of these for your products.
What is Zoll USA and who pays it?
Zoll USA is simply the German term for US customs duty. It is paid by the importer of record when goods enter the United States. If you sell DDP or import into your own US inventory, that is you or your US entity. If you ship DAP, the buyer or carrier pays at delivery. There is no US import VAT to reclaim afterward, so duty stays in your cost.
Do I still need to pay duty on low-value parcels to US customers?
At the time of writing, generally yes. The US ended duty-free de minimis treatment for shipments from China and Hong Kong in May 2025 and suspended it for all countries effective August 29, 2025. Direct parcels from abroad now face duties and need an entry. Confirm the current rules for your products and shipping method with a licensed customs broker.
Is US sales tax the same as customs duty?
No. Customs duty is a federal charge on imported goods paid by the importer at entry. Sales tax is a state and local tax charged to the end customer at the point of sale. Remote and foreign sellers can owe sales tax collection in a state once they cross its economic nexus threshold, while marketplaces usually collect on their own sales. An accountant should handle registrations.
Should a foreign ecommerce brand ship DDP or DAP to the US?
For consumer sales, DDP or bulk import into US inventory is usually the better experience, because the checkout price is final and nothing is collected at the door. DAP shifts duty to the buyer and can suit B2B shipments to an experienced US importer. The right setup depends on your entity, bond and broker arrangements, so confirm it with your customs broker.