Even as Bermudian online shopping has surged in the last six years, the closure of the tariff loophole on cheap imports into the United States may lessen the appeal of internet spending.

The loophole allowed e-commerce firms and global retailers to ship small packages valued at $800 or less, to and through, the US from China and elsewhere, duty-free. Its closure will drive up the price of items substantially.

Just like local retailers selling US-sourced, Chinese-made goods, they will be affected by the new, steep US tariffs being imposed on China.

The July 30 White House executive order said shippers with the right paperwork will pay duties based on country-mandated tariffs or pay a fixed fee between $80 and $200 per package.

That will impact internet purchases being shipped through the US and to Bermuda.

Bermuda Government figures just released for the year to April show overseas declarations increased 9.1 per cent compared with April 2024.

Imports via courier increased $2.7 million to $18.2 million, a large portion of which is comprised of internet shopping purchases. Imports by households via sea increased $0.4 million to $9.8 million.

Annual courier imports have shot up since the government first began publishing figures it tracked for December 2017. The $10.6 million for that month, Christmas and all, is in stark contrast to the $18.2 million for this past April.

Selected overseas declarations via courier for the entire year of 2018 was $133.5 million. Just six years later, that number had mushroomed to $185.7 million, up some 39 per cent.

It included a preponderance of items under the $800-threshold, goods now facing new duties and closer scrutiny at US ports, before being sent onto Bermuda via couriers such as ZipX or Mailboxes.

The new tariffs will apply to all such shipments, with rates ranging from 10 per cent to 30 per cent, depending on the product and its country of origin.

Bermuda’s General Post Office on Friday joined dozens of countries in halting the shipments of packages to the US, while they await clarity from American authorities on changes to the customs rules.

It was the first understanding of how the change in the so-called “de minimis” rule would affect Bermudians.

But there is increasing evidence that Bermudian online shopping habits may also be impacted.

US Customs and Border Patrol say incoming shipments that have used the exemption make up 92 per cent of all the cargo entering the US, and that figure is “growing in epic proportions”.

In fiscal 2024, nearly 1.4 billion shipments arrived under de minimis with a declared value of $64.6 billion, nearly three-quarters of which originated from China.

Bermudians ship these home through their chosen Delaware freight forwarder.

These individual items are among the more than one billion de minimis shipments the US Customs and Border Patrol processed last year. The US Government said the number is skyrocketing because of online shopping.

Reuters reported shipments include those from China and Hong Kong, affecting retailers such as Shein and Temu, as well as some third-party sellers on Amazon.

“Platforms like eBay and Etsy, where individuals and small businesses sell anything from vintage soccer shirts to electronics, have advised sellers to communicate with their customers about tariff-related price increases, ” said Reuters.

The United States Supreme Court may be forced to determine the future of the US government’s controversial tariff policy, after an appeals court on Friday ruled the Trump administration overreached in enacting the punitive financial measures against almost every country in the world.

The ruling as of this October would affect the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, as well as other tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada. The Supreme Court is now expected to intervene before the October 14 date.