Zonos, SafePackage & Others Could Win Big In De Minimis Dust Up As Shippers Look For Duty Processing Solutions
UPDATE 8-26-25
CBP has added more service providers to their list of 3rd party companies qualified to collect and pay duties on international mail, including:
- International Bonded Couriers, Inc.
- R&H International Brokerage LLC
- JFS
- Flexport International
- North American eCommerce Solutions LLC
As postal services worldwide scramble to deal with the latest changes to tariffs and the end of the duty-free de minimis exemption for low value packages, US Customs and Border Protection release list of third party companies qualified to collect and pay duty on international mail.
CBP issued updated guidance for international postal services last week, advising how shipments coming into the US will need be handled after the end of the de minimis exemption, which is currently slated for August 29, 2025.
The executive order issued by President Trump puts the burden of collecting duties and taxes for shipments which no longer have de minimis exemption on to the international postal services directly, or qualified third party providers - and some postal services have responded by saying they will be temporarily pausing shipments to the US as result.
Liz Morton
A new CBP Cargo Systems Messaging Service bulletin posted yesterday has named Zonos and SafePackage as the first two authorized third party providers, with the promise of more to come.
SafePackage touts itself as a "proprietary AI-powered software that leverages
web listings with image recognition to ensure customs compliance,
data accuracy, and duty collection."
And Zonos boasts over 15 years experience with partnerships and integrations Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce as well as DHL, FedEx, UPS, and USPS.
UPDATE: Canada Post has confirmed they will be partnering with Zonos to collect duties. Shippers will need to have a Zonos Verified Account and information on how to create one through Canada Post will be coming soon.
Zonos also provides Canada Post and Australian Post businesses a free duty and tax calculator and HS classification interface.
CBP says more providers may be added if/when they complete all the steps to qualify and they'll be posting an updated list on their site when that happens.
While many European countries have said they are pausing shipments at this time, Australia Post is telling news media they are "investigating paying duties and taxes through an approved third-party platform provider on behalf of our merchants" - which will likely end up being either Zonos or SafePackage unless other options are able to gain approval before August 29th.
View our full list of statements from various postal service and ecommerce platforms here and stay tuned for updates from Value Added Resource as the situation continues to evolve!
