The U.S. has changed how it taxes parcels entering the country, and it’s reshaping how South African SMEs sell to one of their biggest international markets. Here’s a plain-English, no jargon explainer of what’s going on, why costs have climbed so sharply and what it means for your business.

TL;DR: What You Need to Know

• Key U.S. Trade policy changes (Apr–Nov 2025) dramatically increased landed costs for parcels entering America.
• Practically, SMEs are paying 30% - 40% more on average to sell to the U.S. A parcel containing a R1000 pair of leather shoes can incur an additional R400 in duties and fees. 
• South African SMEs exporting to the U.S. report slower sales, confused customers, and tighter margins.
• You can adapt through strategies like clear communication, optimising HS codes, DDP, and transparent pricing (playbook coming next week - watch this space).
  
  

1. What Changed in 2025? (With Key Dates)

Over the past few months, South African exporters have been hit by a series of rapid policy changes in the U.S. These changes specifically impact small-parcel e-commerce exports, the heartbeat of many growing SA brands.

🗓 Key Dates

• 5 April: 10% Global Baseline Tariff Introduced
  A blanket increase affecting most countries exporting to the U.S.
  
  
• 8 August: 30% Reciprocal Tariff Introduced (South Africa-specific)
  South Africa was placed in a special category with a 30% tariff on qualifying goods.
  
  
• 29 August: $800 De Minimis Threshold Removed This was the big one. Before this, any parcel under $800 entered the U.S. duty-free. Now every single parcel, no matter how small, is subject to duties and tariffs.
  
  
• 5 November: Supreme Court Legal Challenge Filed
  The outcome is unknown, but exporters cannot rely on near-term relief.
  
  

📊 The Impact on SA Exporters

• Exports to the U.S. fell 40% in October vs 1 April baseline.
• The most affected sectors are Apparel and Fashion (down 78% since April) and Health and Beauty (down 80% since April).

These declines match what SMEs are telling us: U.S. buyers are shocked by unexpected fees, are abandoning carts and are reducing discretionary spending. Learn more about the data we’re seeing in our SME Export Index. 

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2. What These Terms Actually Mean

To make sense of what’s happening, here’s a handful of useful terms to understand:

Tariffs‍

Extra taxes the U.S. adds to goods imported from certain countries. South Africa currently faces a 30% reciprocal tariff on many products.

Import Duties

Product-specific taxes determined by your HS code.

HS Codes

A global classification system that tells customs what your product is and what duty rate applies.

De Minimis

The old U.S. rule that allowed parcels under $800 to skip duties. Removed on 29 August. Everything is now taxed.

DDP vs DAP

• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): You pay all the duties upfront, and either absorb the cost or build it into your product price.
• DAP (Delivered at Place): Your U.S. customer pays on delivery (where most shipment abandonment happens).

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“Shipping DDP is best. Customers are happier.” - Apparel and Fashion business

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3. How Much More Are Your U.S. Orders Costing Now? (A Practical Example)

Let’s use a simple real-world scenario.

Shipping R1000 Leather shoes - Before 29 August 

• Customer pays the R1 000 + shipping.
• No duties. No tariffs.
• No nasty surprises at the door.

Shipping R1000 Leather shoes - After 29 August

The same order now attracts:

• 30% reciprocal tariff → R300
• 10% standard import duty → R100
• Total additional cost = R400

Someone has to pay this R400. And that “someone” is either:

• the U.S. buyer → leading to abandoned carts and angry messages
• or the South African merchant → resulting in shrinking margins
  
  

4. What Other South African Exporters Are Seeing

Across apparel, beauty, accessories, gifts, homeware and niche categories, the themes are remarkably consistent:

• Slower sales to the U.S., especially discretionary categories like fashion.
• High cart abandonment due to surprise duties on DAP.
• Confusion among U.S. buyers who don’t understand the charges.
• Margin pressure as some merchants absorb duties.

“U.S. Customers don’t understand tariffs at all … there’s a whole subset who just aren’t ordering anything international.” - Musical Instrument business

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5. What can you do about it?

The current US import environment is hard — even for experienced exporters — but there are ways to reduce friction, protect trust, and keep customers buying.

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“Trade is evolving. Clarity helps you keep pace.”

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Here’s what South African SMEs are doing right now:

• Get HS codes right to avoid paying the wrong duty rate.
• Show transparent landed costs so customers aren’t blindsided by fees.
• Use DDP where possible to smooth out the delivery experience.
• Communicate clearly with U.S. customers about why prices or delivery processes have changed.

These aren’t silver bullets (the tariffs are real, and the demand slowdown is real) but they do help you stay competitive in a tougher U.S. market.

Keep an eye out for our Navigating the U.S. Tariffs Playbook next week, which will provide practical steps to implement various strategies and adapt with confidence. 

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