Updated 7 Shevat 5786 (24 Feb. 26)

Never a dull moment under the current White House administration! Tariff developments over the weekend have been moving fast, and we want to keep you clearly informed about how this affects your orders from Israel.

The White House recently posted an extremely jargon‑heavy update titled “Continuing the Suspension of Duty‑Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries.” For our customers, the most important part is this paragraph from Section 3(b):

“A duty equal to the rate provided in the Proclamation of February 20, 2026 (Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems), shall be assessed on the value of each dutiable postal item containing goods entered for consumption. This duty rate shall be assessed until the expiration date of the temporary import surcharge… or until the effective date of the new entry process for postal shipments established by CBP, whichever date occurs first.” 

So what does that mean in plain English?

When we ship your order from Israel, the United States now charges a temporary import duty on every package. This is based on a new Presidential order issued on February 20, 2026. The import duty for the next 150 days will be 10%, rather than the 15% rate which has been in place for the past six months.

Here’s the simple version:

1. There is a temporary surcharge on all packages.

The U.S. President introduced a temporary import surcharge. Whatever percentage that surcharge is, the shipping company (USPS, UPS, etc.) must charge that rate on international postal packages. 

2. How long will this extra charge last?

The surcharge continues until whichever of these happens first:

A. The temporary surcharge itself expires, or
B. U.S. Customs (CBP) launches a new postal‑entry processing system. 

Once either of these events occurs, this temporary surcharge on USPS‑delivered packages automatically ends.

A Quick Look Back: What Happened Six Months Ago

When the U.S. eliminated the de minimis rule back in August 2025, every shipment—no matter how small—became subject to full import duty + customs processing fees. Postal and courier shipments alike.

For our U.S. customers, this meant a import duty on all of our products, plus processing/brokerage fees. UPS, in particular, charges significant administrative fees for this paperwork.

We did everything we could to negotiate or reduce those charges, but courier fees are set at the carrier level and we cannot alter them.

Israel Post's Surprising (and helpful) Role

Shortly after the U.S. rule change, Israel Post stepped up with an impressively fast and efficient system to handle all the required customs data.

Most importantly:

• Their processing fees were extremely low.
• We decided to absorb those fees ourselves, instead of passing them on to you.

As a result, our First Class and EMS/Priority shipping options have become much more attractive for our U.S. customers—while the UPS option has become less appealing due to its higher brokerage surcharges.

What Happens Next?

Based on our understanding of a notice sent by Israel Post, parcels entering the USA will now be subject to a 10% import duty instead of 15%. Note that for USA customers, we add the duty at checkout, so that our customers enjoy hassle-free delivery and to ensure the total amount they pay is transparent from the start. The change from 15% to 10% will go into effect for orders placed starting 24 Feb.