If you buy stock from overseas, the import rules have changed more in the last fourteen months than in the previous decade. The $800 duty-free threshold is gone, apparel duty from China now stacks in three layers, and the quote your supplier sent may or may not include any of it.
Here is where things stand as of October 2026, in plain English, with the numbers that matter for a wholesale clothing order.
The quick answer
Yes — every commercial shipment into the US now pays duty, whatever its value. For clothing from China, the combined rate commonly lands between the mid-30s and around 50 percent of the goods' value, depending on the garment and fiber. The only question is who handles it: you at the border, or your supplier inside a DDP price.
De minimis is gone — for good
Until 2025, shipments under $800 entered the US duty-free under the de minimis exemption. That ended on August 29, 2025, when the exemption was suspended for all countries. In June 2026, US Customs moved the suspension from executive order into permanent regulation.
What that means in practice:
- There is no order too small to owe duty. A $300 wholesale parcel goes through the same formal entry as a container.
- Every entry needs a 10-digit HTS classification of the goods.
- Duty is assessed on every commercial shipment, with the bill typically collected by the carrier or your customs broker before release.
If your last overseas order arrived duty-free, that is the rule change you have to plan around now.
How clothing duty stacks in 2026
Duty on Chinese apparel is not one rate — it is layers added on top of each other:
| Layer | Typical rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Base MFN rate (by HTS code) | ~16.5% cotton knits · up to ~32% synthetics | All imports, any origin |
| Section 301 (legacy lists) | 7.5% most apparel · 25% bags & trims | Goods from China |
| 2026 Section 301 action (effective July 24, 2026) | 12.5% | Goods from China |
Worked examples, as of this writing: a cotton t-shirt stacks to roughly 36.5% total duty; a synthetic-fiber garment can reach ~50%. Swim and lingerie are predominantly synthetic-fiber categories, so they sit toward the upper end of the range.
Two honest caveats. Rates have moved twice in two years and can move again; and the exact figure always depends on the HTS classification of your specific garment. Treat the table as the shape of the cost, not a quote.
What that looks like on a real order
Take an $800 wholesale order of synthetic swimwear bought on terms where you are the importer (FOB, DAP or "DDU" — here's what those terms mean):
- Duty at ~45–50%: roughly $360–400
- Customs broker entry fee: commonly $100–200
- Carrier disbursement or bond fees: varies, rarely zero
Your $800 of stock quietly became $1,250+ before it reached your shelf — numbers that should have been in your retail pricing from day one, discovered after the fact.
That is the real cost of a cheap-looking quote: not that the duty exists, but that it arrives as a surprise, after your margins are already set.
The trap: quotes that leave duty out
Nothing on a DAP or FOB quote is dishonest — the duty simply isn't the supplier's problem under those terms. The trap is comparing a supplier who quotes $6.50 DDP against one who quotes $5.80 FOB and concluding the second is cheaper. Add the layers above and the "cheaper" quote usually isn't.
When you compare suppliers, ask one question first: "Is this price DDP — duties and customs clearance included?" If the answer is anything but an unqualified yes, you are looking at a partial price.
How GoodBase prices it
Every price we quote is DDP: import duties, customs clearance and door-to-door air delivery (10–21 days) are inside the number — flat $39 shipping per order, free over $600. Tariffs are our problem to manage, not a bill that follows your order. The price you see is the landed price you can set margin against.
FAQ
Do I pay customs on a wholesale order under $800? Yes. The de minimis exemption ended on August 29, 2025, and the change was made permanent in 2026. Every commercial shipment pays duty regardless of value.
How much is import duty on clothing from China in 2026? It stacks: a base rate by garment type (roughly 16.5–32%), plus 7.5% legacy Section 301, plus a 12.5% action added in July 2026. Combined, most apparel lands between the mid-30s and about 50 percent — synthetics at the higher end.
Who actually collects the duty? US Customs, through the formal entry process — in practice the bill reaches you via your customs broker or the carrier before the goods are released. Under DDP terms, your supplier handles and pays all of it before delivery.
If I order DDP, do tariffs still apply? They apply to the shipment, but they are the supplier's cost, already built into your price. Nothing is collected from you at delivery — that is the entire point of DDP.
The simplest way to test a DDP supplier is a small order where the duty question is already answered. Our sample kit is five styles of your choice, $69 all-in — duties included. See the sample kit →