By Crossave · Updated: August 2026
Two things changed in 2026 for anyone buying from the United States, and they are constantly mixed up. One concerns parcels going INTO the US and does not affect buyers at all. The other changes what you pay, and almost nobody has written about it: since 1 July 2026 most goods originating in the United States enter the European Union with zero customs duty. The catch is that "originating in the US" is not the same as "shipped from the US", and the whole saving hangs on that difference.
Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 applies from 1 July 2026 until 31 December 2029. Article 1(1) sets the Common Customs Tariff duty to 0% for goods listed in its Annex I "and originating in the United States". Annex I covers CN chapters 25 to 97 — in practice all industrial goods: clothing, electronics, machinery, optical instruments.
How much that is worth: clothing normally carries 12% duty in the EU. On a 300 EUR jacket with 20 EUR shipping that is 38.40 EUR. If the jacket is of US origin, since 1 July 2026 you do not owe it.
The measure is openly temporary — it is part of the EU-US trade framework, expires at the end of 2029, and can be suspended earlier if the agreement changes.
This is the part that decides whether you pay, and the part nobody explains. The exemption applies to the ORIGIN of the goods — where they were made — determined under the non-preferential origin rules of the Union Customs Code. It has nothing to do with the country the parcel leaves from.
A US seller shipping you a phone manufactured in China is shipping goods of Chinese origin: full duty applies. Conversely, a guitar built in Tennessee keeps its US origin even if a German shop posts it to you.
On a marketplace the first case is the majority, which is why this site still shows you the duty on purchases shipping from the US: we know where the parcel ships from, not where the goods were made. Above 150 EUR we say so next to the total, so you know there is a question worth asking.
Only the seller knows the origin, and it is not exotic information — a proper shop has it on the invoice. One question before you order:
Whatever happens to the duty, import VAT is due on everything entering the EU from outside, at any value: the old exemption under 22 EUR was abolished on 1 July 2021. It is calculated on the value of the goods plus shipping, plus the duty when there is one.
The rate is the one of the country the parcel is delivered to, not the one of the seller. Among the larger EU markets: Germany 19%, France 20%, Spain 21%, the Netherlands 21%, Belgium 21%, Italy 22%, Ireland 23%, Poland 23%. On a 300 EUR jacket the difference between the lowest and the highest of those is about 12 EUR — before any duty.
The practical rule: on a US purchase the duty can be brought to zero by asking one question, VAT cannot. Anyone focusing only on the duty is watching the smaller number.
If the value of the goods alone is below 150 EUR, since 1 July 2026 a flat EU duty of 3 EUR per type of article applies, replacing the old exemption. It is charged per TYPE of article, not per piece: five identical items in one shipment pay it once, the same five items in five shipments pay it five times.
How this flat duty interacts with the US-origin exemption is not clarified by the sources we checked, and we do not invent it: below 150 EUR our calculation applies the flat duty. It is 3 EUR — it does not change a decision.
Italy adds a national contribution of 2 EUR per shipment from 1 October 2026 on non-EU parcels up to 150 EUR. That one is Italian only: if your parcel is delivered elsewhere in the EU it does not apply to you.
On 29 August 2025 the United States suspended the "de minimis" exemption that let parcels under 800 dollars in duty-free. It made headlines everywhere and is routinely quoted in the wrong context, including in collector forums.
It concerns goods ENTERING the United States. If you buy from a US seller, the goods leave the US and enter the EU: that rule does not touch you in any way. It affects you only if you are the one shipping to America — for instance selling a card to a US collector.
Worth knowing, because it is the most common mistake on this subject, and it makes people walk away from a good purchase over a tax that does not exist in that direction.
Every rule quoted here has a date and a source, listed below. Two are moving: the US-origin exemption, which expires at the end of 2029 and can be suspended earlier, and the Italian 2 EUR contribution, already postponed once.
If you are reading this well after August 2026, check the sources before doing the maths: on a subject like this an old guide is not imprecise, it is wrong.
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