Ecommerce Tariffs in 2026: Current Rules & Upcoming Updates

If you’ve tried to keep up with US tariff policy this year, you’re in good company.

The rules changed in February, shifted again in July, and a court ruled back in May that some of those rules may have been unlawful in the first place.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, you still have products to price, customers to serve, and a checkout that needs to show the right number.

So let's untangle it. Here's what's currently in effect, what changed on July 24, and what eCommerce brands should do before the next deadline hits.

What the Current US Tariff Landscape Looks Like in 2026

So, what are the current tariffs in the US right now?

As of May 2026, what you owe at the border depends on what you’re importing, where it’s from, and when it ships. Multiple tariff programs are active at the same time, and they can stack.

Here’s the quick version by product impact:

• Goods from China may face extra duties of 7.5% to 25% or more, depending on the product category and HTS code.
• Steel, aluminum, copper, and certain pharmaceuticals may face much higher tariffs, including up to 50% on some metals and up to 100% on patented pharmaceuticals.
• Goods not already covered by country-specific or national security tariffs, think apparel, home goods, and general consumer products, were subject to a temporary 10% surcharge through July 24, when it expired and was replaced by two new country-specific Section 301 tariffs.
  
• Low-value shipments are no longer automatically protected by the old duty-free cushion. The US $800 de minimis exemption is gone, and the suspension now applies globally. As of July 24, US postal shipments also face full customs entry rather than the simplified process they used before, and low-value EU imports under €150 now face a €3 customs duty per item as of July 1.

Your landed cost depends on the product, origin, HTS code, exemptions, and timing. ShipperHQ’s Duties and Taxes feature helps calculate those costs at checkout and lets you collect duties and taxes upfront, so shoppers see what they owe before the package reaches their door.

1. Goods from China: Already Expensive, Now Stacked

If you source from China, you were likely paying extra duties before the 2026 changes.

Most eCommerce brands sourcing from China are already used to the older Section 301 tariffs that began with the 2017 investigation. But those duties are still changing as new investigations, negotiations, exclusions, and product-specific updates move through the process.

The current China Section 301 structure generally includes 25% rates on goods in Lists 1 and 2, and 7.5% rates in Lists 3 and 4A.

Some categories are much higher: electric vehicles at 100%, semiconductors at 50%, solar cells at 50%, and EV batteries at 25%.

That stacked with the 10% Section 122 surcharge until it expired on July 24. China's average tariff now sits closer to 27%, driven by Section 301 duties layering with the country-specific tariffs that replaced the surcharge.

And even more changes may be coming soon. In March 2026, USTR opened two new Section 301 investigations. However, no new tariffs have come from those investigations yet.

For now, the shipping and checkout takeaway is simple: your duty and tax setup needs to be flexible enough to update by product, origin, and destination.

Tariff changes are hard enough. Rebuilding your shipping logic every time they move should not be part of the job. That's what ShipperHQ’s tariff solutions are built for.

2. Metal, Copper, and Pharma-Adjacent Products: The 2026 Additions

If your products include metal components, copper, specialty packaging, electronics with copper inside, or anything that touches pharmaceutical definitions, you may have added costs.

These tariffs come through Section 232, the national security authority. Commerce investigates whether certain imports threaten national security, and the president can impose tariffs or restrictions based on those findings.

In 2026, Section 232 included steel and aluminum up to 50%, copper up to 50%, and announced pharmaceutical tariffs up to 100% with future effective dates. The pharma tariffs begin July 31, 2026 for 17 companies and September 29, 2026 for others. Generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars are excluded.

3. Most Other Imports: The 10% Temporary Surcharge

The surcharge expired on schedule on July 24, and was replaced by two new country-specific Section 301 tariffs: a 25% duty on Brazil and a 10-12.5% duty tied to forced labor concerns covering roughly 60 countries, though most trade under the second tariff qualifies for an exemption.

The flat 10% surcharge is gone, but the overall cost barely moved. The trade-weighted average US tariff shifted only slightly, from 11% to 11.2%, but the structure underneath changed completely: instead of one uniform rate, it's now a patchwork based on where the product comes from, what it is, and which HTS code applies. China's average tariff rose to roughly 27%, and Brazil's to roughly 18%, among the highest of any major trading partner.

For eCommerce teams, that means checkout logic needs to be flexible enough to change when the rules do. As tariff rules shift fast, your shoppers still expect transparent costs before they purchase.

4. Small Parcels: The Free Ride Is Over

De minimis is the duty-free threshold that lets low-value imports enter a country with reduced or no customs duties. In the US, that threshold used to be $800.

That threshold is now gone. It was suspended for China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025, then globally on August 29, 2025.

The EU is moving in the same direction. Starting July 1, 2026, low-value eCommerce parcels under €150 are expected to face a €3 customs duty per item. Full removal of the €150 exemption is still in progress, but the direction is clear: small parcels are getting more customs scrutiny, not less.

Beyond de minimis, the mechanics of postal shipping itself changed on July 24. CBP moved postal parcels from a simplified, flat-rate clearance process to full customs entry, the same treatment as standard commercial imports. That means every postal shipment now needs a 10-digit HTS code, up from the shorter codes that used to work, and parcels without one risk being returned. The prepaid duty threshold for postal shipments also rose from $800 to $2,500. Full compliance on the new data requirements phases in by October 22, 2026.

For this tariff update, the key point is simple: low-value shipments no longer get the same cushion they’ve traditionally had. Now more than ever, having a transparent checkout with duty and tax calculation upfront is essential.

How Tariff Changes Show Up in Your Checkout

Tariff changes are not just a customs problem. They can raise your landed cost, squeeze your margin, and create surprise fees for shoppers.

For eCommerce brands, the job is twofold: protect your margin on imported goods, and show shoppers what they may owe before they place the order.

Before the next tariff shift, focus on four things:

1. Review your inbound cost exposure. Look at your top imported SKUs by supplier, country of origin, and margin. If a product only works because the old duty rate was lower, you need to know that before the next shipment lands.
2. Audit your HTS codes. A wrong HTS code does not just create audit risk. It can also produce the wrong landed cost, which means your pricing, margin math, and checkout display may all be off.
3. Keep landed cost calculations current. Tariff rates, restrictions, and exemptions can change quickly. ShipperHQ’s Duties and Taxes feature automatically pulls the latest duty and tax rates via DHL's real-time global data, so your checkout can reflect the current landed cost without manually rebuilding rate tables.
4. Decide what shoppers should see by market. Some markets may be a good fit for collecting duties and taxes upfront. Others may only need clear cost estimates. The important part is that your shopper sees the right information before the order is placed.

Then reflect those decisions in your shipping configuration. ShipperHQ helps calculate and collect duties and taxes at checkout using product HS codes and destination data. It also lets you configure landed cost display, DDP vs DDU designation by destination country, and surcharge rules by origin, product type, or shipping scenario.

The Bottom Line

Tariff policy is still shifting. What replaced the July 24 surcharge now varies by country rather than applying a flat rate. Pharmaceutical tariffs phase in next, starting July 31. Postal shipments now face full customs entry, with a compliance deadline of October 22 for the new data requirements.

For ecommerce brands, the answer is not to memorize every possible rate. It is to protect your margin with clean HTS codes, keep landed cost logic current, and make your checkout clear enough that shoppers know what they may owe before they place the order.

ShipperHQ's Duties and Taxes feature pulls real-time rates across 200-plus countries so your checkout reflects what's actually owed. See how it works, or book a demo to get ahead of the next deadline.