These are the markets most China dropshipping stores ship into. The amounts are the public rules as of November 2026, not a rate quote. Carrier brokerage sits on top of every figure below.
United States
The USD 800 duty-free release is closed. CBP ended it for China and Hong Kong on 2 May 2025 and for every origin on 29 August 2025. Commercial parcels need an informal or formal entry and pay the tariff. China-origin goods can also owe Section 301 duty. Postal low-value mail uses a mail informal entry from 24 July 2026. Congress repealed the commercial exemption from 1 July 2027.
Call a lane prepaid only when the carrier files the entry and bills the duty to the account. A SKU that repeats belongs in a US warehouse after one inbound, not on a new airbill every day. Do not cut the declared value to imitate the old USD 800 rule.
United Kingdom
At £135 or under, the seller or the marketplace charges UK VAT at checkout, and customs duty is generally not due. Above £135 the carrier usually collects import VAT and duty. The government will remove that duty relief by October 2028 at the latest. It still applies. Northern Ireland is not the same as Great Britain for goods from outside the UK and the EU.
Keep a test basket at or under £135 when the product allows it, with VAT in the price. Do not split one order into fake parcels to stay under the line. Repeat winners can sit in a UK node so the last mile is domestic.
European Union
From 1 July 2026, €3 customs duty per declaration line on distance sales up to €150. From 1 November 2026, a €2 handling fee per line on distance sales of any value. Five identical units on one line are one charge, not five. IOSS collects the VAT. It does not pay the €3 or the €2.
Count lines before dispatch. Call the lane prepaid only if that carrier advances both amounts for that country. The worked examples are in the EU section below.
Canada
By mail, or by courier that does not come from the United States or Mexico, duty and GST/HST apply above CAD 20. Courier from the US or Mexico is duty-free up to CAD 150, and tax-free only up to CAD 40. CBSA gives the higher band only if the goods entered US or Mexican commerce. A box that only passes through the US stays on the CAD 20 rule.
Canadian orders for a proven SKU are often cheaper from US stock that has already cleared into the US, because duty drops inside CAD 150. GST/HST still applies above CAD 40. A direct China parcel should be quoted with duty, tax and the courier disbursement, or sold prepaid.
Australia
Most goods with a customs value of A$1,000 or less pay no customs duty and no GST at the border. Alcohol and tobacco are the exception. GST at 10% is collected at checkout once the seller or marketplace passes the A$75,000 registration line. One box over A$1,000 is cleared at the border, with duty, GST and an import processing charge.
Ship each consumer order as its own consignment under A$1,000. Once you must register, put GST in the price and the GST-paid reference on the paperwork so the border does not charge it twice. Do not merge several orders into one box that crosses A$1,000.
New Zealand
Customs does not collect duty or GST at the border at NZ$1,000 or under, except alcohol and tobacco. Parcels from the same supplier arriving the same day can be treated as one shipment. Registered sellers charge 15% GST at sale on goods of NZ$1,000 or less. Registration starts at NZ$60,000 of supplies to NZ consumers. Over NZ$1,000, duty and GST are charged at the border.
Same operating rule as Australia: separate consignments under the line, GST in the checkout when registration applies, and a local node only after the SKU repeats. Stock already in New Zealand is a domestic sale, not a low-value import.
Merchant summary, not legal or tax advice. Lists and rates change. Confirm the live lane before the checkout promises “no extra charges”.
