September 2025 Tariff Update: The Good & Bad for Small eCommerce Businesses

For small eCommerce businesses, tariffs in 2025 are more than just headline news—they are daily operational challenges. It isn’t all bad news though and as time has gone by there have been glimmers of good news.

In this blog, we will provide some of the latest updates – although it may change by the time I post this! If you are wondering what tariffs are and how they work be sure to check our March blog on tariffs.

End of De Minimis – Good & Bad

In recent years, has your small business been frustrated with consumers flocking to Temu and SHEIN’s tariff-free, low-cost products? With the end of the de minimis loophole, imports under $800 are now taxed when imported. For small ecommerce companies that regularly import more than $800 of goods, the end of de minimis doesn’t directly impact costs but it certainly may bring some customers back.

Another factor that may bring customers back is the slowing shipping times for items coming from outside the US. It was already a long wait for Temu goods and it is becoming even longer as all those small packages bottleneck at the customs collection point. Of course, this bottleneck may also impact your imports, so we are recommending that all small eCommerce businesses evaluate their reorder point and consider ordering early.

At Key, we are also monitoring small package delivery for delays and anticipating that they will increase even more than usual this holiday season.

Possible Refunds

In recent weeks, we have learned that half of the tariffs currently being collected could be refunded, depending on court rulings. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? The experts we have spoken to are recommending that we not count on it. It could take years to receive a refund, if one gets issued. Given the uncertainty, businesses just can’t count on it yet.

Expiration of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOG)

The African Growth and Opportunity Act was passed in 2000 and provides tariff-free imports to eligible sub-Saharan African countries in order to promote growth and free markets. AGOG is set to expire in just a few weeks, on September 30, 2025. At this point, there have been crickets on this topic from Congress and it appears unlikely that it will be renewed. For small businesses that have benefited from AGOG over the last 25 years, this will represent a major shift in policy.

Overall, tariffs continue to be an area of stress for many small businesses and they are expected to continue to be for some time to come but the news is not all bad. With proactive planning and agile eCommerce order fulfillment shipping strategies, you can survive this challenging time and use the adversity to strengthen your business for many years to come!