Alternative to Claiming Section 321 For Your Small Shipments Into the USA (2026 update)

If you’re an e-commerce brand shipping into the United States, you’ve likely heard of Section 321 US Customs. For years, this program allowed shipments valued under $800 per person, per day to enter the US duty-free, and it became one of the most widely used tools in cross-border e-commerce.

Please note: The de minimis landscape has changed significantly. The US eliminated its $800 duty-free threshold for goods from China and Hong Kong in May 2025, and extended that elimination to all remaining countries on August 29, 2025. Today, every shipment entering the US is subject to duties regardless of its value, which has fundamentally changed how brands need to think about cross-border shipping strategy. We’ve put together a full breakdown of how de minimis rule changes are affecting e-commerce brands in 2026, including what’s happening in the EU and UK, and what businesses are doing to adapt.

What can you do to adapt? Skip to this section

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What Is Section 321 US Customs?

Section 321 was a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulation that sets the de minimis threshold for imports.

• Value limit: $800 USD per shipment, per day, per person.
• Duty savings: Avoid average import duties of ~5% (some up to 30%).
• Eligibility: Most e-commerce parcels under $800 can qualify, unless restricted goods.

This rule had fueled the rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce. In 2020, 636 million parcels entered the US under Section 321; by mid-2024, volumes exceeded 1 billion.

Is entry type 86 referring to the same thing as section 321?

In essence, yes. Entry type 86, or T86, is the regulatory framework developed by the CBP that allows shipments under a certain value to enter through US customs without being taxed duties.

Section 321 is the specific CBP program that outlines that goods valued at less than 800 USD imported by one person on one day will not incur any duties. 

Beginning in 2019 to simplify the process, entry type 86 (T86) was created to allow customs brokers or self-filers to electronically apply for de minimus entry. You or a customs broker have to register for entry type 86, but it can be done the day before or the same day of your shipment.

Claiming section 321: What you need

#1. An invoice or detailed document outlining the value

Since CBP has a hard cutoff of 800 USD, you need to be able to clearly prove that the value of your shipment falls below that value. This can be an invoice or a detailed description of the goods. 

The most assured way to do this is by attaching an invoice to your shipment for easy viewing at customs. 

#2. An ACE eManifest

To get CBP to clear your goods for section 321 status, you need to fill out an online form called the ACE eManifest. To fill out this form, you will either need to make your own ACE portal account, or you can work with a customs broker who will take care of that for you.

If you are doing it on your own, you’ll need to fill out a report for your import shipment in the portal. The report requires you to fill in various info on your shipment, including the following:

• Shipment type (which would be section 321)
• Shipment control number
• Name of the shipper and consignee
• Country of origin
• Total value in USD

#3. Documentation to attach to your shipment

When your physical shipment gets to customs, you need to make sure that you attach documentation stating its section 321 designation, plus the invoice.

#4. Make sure your goods fit the requirements

Non-compliant goods cannot qualify for section 321. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Chemicals such as cleaning supplies that require close inspection at customs
• Goods subject to anti-dumping duties 
• Goods that are specifically regulated by the FDA or other similar product safety administration
• Cigarettes and related smoking products and alcohol

#5. Only make one shipment per day or you will pay duties

This is serious — if you try to make more than one claim in a day and are caught, you could pay as much as 5,000 USD in penalties. Make sure you or the customs broker you work with is following the rules.

#6. For imports coming from China: keep an eye on changing regulations

After the US-China trade war, various laws were put in place to discourage anticompetitive practices. For instance, section 301 places an added tariff specifically on goods coming from China.

At present, section 321 overrides “China 301” as it is sometimes called, meaning that imports coming from China are still allowed under section 321. 

However, with the recent flooding of uber-cheap fast fashion imports under the de minimus law coming into the US from China, the legislation looks to be changing.

 Those importing directly from China: keep an eye out for regulatory changes.

What Should You Do as an E-Commerce Owner to Adapt?

Start by running your actual numbers. Pull your top SKUs, check their duty rates by country of origin, and find out exactly what each unit now costs you to land in the US. For most e-commerce categories, you are looking at an additional 10% to 30% per unit, on every order. That number needs to go into your pricing model before anything else.

Once you know the real cost, the most effective structural response is B2B2C fulfillment. Rather than shipping each order direct to your US customer, you consolidate into bulk shipments and import at wholesale value. Duties are calculated on what you paid for the goods, not what your customer pays for them. On a $100 retail product with a $50 wholesale cost and a 30% tariff, that drops your duty bill from $30 to $15 per unit. Same product, same customer, half the duty cost. Your customers also get faster delivery once you are fulfilling from inside the US. Here is a full breakdown of how B2B2C works and whether it is right for your business.

The brands that come through this well are the ones treating it as a supply chain decision, not just a cost to absorb. If you want to work through what your options look like, get in touch with the Wayfindr team.