Chris Calverley from Avalara reveals how automated compliance software helps Australian businesses navigate new tariff requirements.
What’s happening: Since 29 August 2025, the US suspended the de minimis exemption for all low-value imports, subjecting all goods valued at US$800 or less to country-specific tariff rates. Australian businesses now face administrative burdens including filing customs entries, supplying accurate documentation, and remitting import duties that may exceed product values.
Why this matters: A 10 per cent US tariff now applies to most Australian manufactured goods, with steel and aluminium still at 25 per cent. The changes increase costs and complexity for Australian exporters, particularly those with Asia-Pacific supply chains.
It’s been a turbulent year for Australian exporters to the US. Since the inauguration of the Trump administration back in January, a flurry of executive orders have up-ended longstanding trade and tariff arrangements.
The latest change to the system, which came into effect on August 29, has seen businesses around the world required to add country specific tariffs to all their US shipments, however low their value.
That’s because the US has reduced its de minimis value – the threshold below which goods are exempt from import duties – from $US800 to zero.
It’s a move that was prompted by concern about the US Customs Service’s capacity to monitor the millions of packages that arrive on the country’s shores each day, a proportion of them containing illicit and contraband substances and goods.
Getting to grips with import duty admin
And it’s capturing scores of Aussie sellers whose US orders did not attract import duties in the past. If your enterprise is among their number, you’ll likely already know you face a higher administrative burden.
The tasks you now need to complete include filing customs entries via the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal and supplying accurate country of origin documentation and tariff classification.
Depending on the nature of your business, you may be required to use bonded carriers to handle your deliveries.
Most importantly, you must remit the correct import duties and fees to the US Customs authority. In some instances, these charges may exceed the value of the goods themselves.
Turning to technology to tackle the complexity
Deploying automated tax compliance technology is the simplest and swiftest way to get on top of this complexity and ensure you don’t incur the steep fines being levied for non-compliance – currently up to $US5000 for the first violation and $10,000 for subsequent ones.
It’s AI-powered software designed to simplify and streamline all the tasks associated with tax compliance and global commerce, including registration, licensing, calculation, document management, reporting, returns, e-invoicing and cross border compliance, in the US and other countries.
Once it’s implemented in your finance tech stack, you’ll be able to automate the calculation of a wide range of tariffs in real time. They include the US import duties you now need to pay on low value goods, along with any sales tax or fees that apply in the US states to which they’re being shipped.
Looking at logistical changes
After that’s taken care of, you may opt to re-revisit your pricing model, to account for the change to your “landed costs” – the import duties you’re now required to levy, along with any additional shipping and handling charges.
It could also pay to make changes on the logistics front, should you identify a more profitable way for your business to service its US customers, now the de minimis exemption is defunct.
(At least for now – given the policy stems from Executive Orders, ongoing litigation could affect its permanence and there’s the chance it could be re-instated at some stage down the track.)
Crunching the numbers to see whether switching from direct-to-consumer deliveries to a localised fulfilment model may be a worthwhile exercise.
Depending on your sales volume, sending bulk or palletised shipments to a US fulfilment centre could enable you to lower per-unit duty significantly and leverage economies of scale.
Once that inventory is stored in the US, it can be delivered to customers duty free and without the customs entry complexities that now comes standard when you’re shipping straight from Oz. You’ll also be able to get orders into customers’ hands faster – a bonus for Aussie operators looking to build a reputation for stand-out service.
Keeping your export journey on track in 2026
Changes to the US taxes and tariffs regime have made it costlier and more complex for Australian enterprises to export goods and services.
Investing in automated tax compliance software will help you manage that complexity. It makes it easier to stay on top of your compliance obligations and will support whatever logistics model you choose to pursue.
If continuing to succeed in the world’s biggest market is a priority for your business in 2026, it’s must-have technology that should sit at the heart of your ICT stack.
Disclaimer: Dynamic Business has not independently verified the facts and statistics presented in this article.
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