Shein & AliExpress in 2026: What the New Tariffs Change — and How to Keep Costs Down

2026 is the year the "cheap parcel slips through for free" era ended. If you shop on Shein or AliExpress, the rules that used to let small orders arrive without duty are being dismantled on both sides of the Atlantic. This is an honest rundown of what changed, what it means for your orders, and the realistic ways to keep your landed cost under control. We won't promise you a way to dodge duties — that era is closing — but smart routing still saves money.

What actually changed in 2026

• United States. The $800 "de minimis" duty-free allowance (Section 321) was suspended for every country of origin on 29 August 2025 — not just China. Low-value parcels into the USA are now dutiable regardless of value, and postal shipments moved to an ad-valorem duty method in early 2026.
• European Union. The EU is removing the €150 customs-duty exemption on low-value imports as part of its customs reform, and has proposed a per-parcel handling fee (around €2) on non-EU e-commerce parcels — measures aimed squarely at the Shein/Temu/AliExpress parcel flood, with changes phasing in around 1 July 2026. VAT has already applied from the first cent since the 2021 IOSS reform.

What it means for Shein and AliExpress orders

The headline: a €12 top or a $9 gadget is no longer automatically duty-free at the border. Expect more parcels to carry duty, VAT and/or a handling fee, and expect customs to look more closely at declared values. The flip side is that Shein and AliExpress increasingly stock items in European warehouses — and an order that ships within the EU is a domestic delivery, not an import, so it sidesteps the cross-border charge entirely on that leg.

How to keep your costs down — honestly

• Prefer EU-stocked items and consolidate. Have your EU-warehouse Shein/AliExpress orders delivered to a European address, group several into one shipment, and forward once. One customs event instead of five is the single biggest lever on cost.
• Declare accurately. Under-declaring is exactly what the 2026 reforms target, and it risks seizure or penalties. A clean, accurate declaration clears faster.
• Compare the landed cost, not the sticker price. Use the real-time calculator to estimate forwarding before you buy, and add the destination's duty/VAT so there are no surprises.

The bottom line

The 2026 changes make the old "tiny parcel, no duty" trick unreliable everywhere. What still works is buying from European stock where possible, consolidating your Shein and AliExpress orders into a single forwarded shipment, and declaring honestly. Resendify gives you a European address and consolidation to do exactly that — we can't make duties disappear, but we can help you stop paying them five times over. Create your account and get your European address with a 14-day trial.