SCOTUS struck down the IEEPA tariffs in February. De minimis stayed dead. Same net result for importers.
The common misread runs like this: "Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against the executive tariffs - so we're back to pre-2025?" No. The February ruling struck the IEEPA-based tariff orders. The de minimis suspension - the provision that let sub-$800 imports enter the US duty-free - was issued under separate statutory authority and survived the ruling intact.
What this means operationally:
Every shipment now hits customs regardless of value. Sub-$800 packages that previously cleared duty-free are dutiable at the applicable HTS code rate. Exposure varies by category - toys and games carry higher tariff rates, beauty and personal care generally lower. The exact rate depends on the HTS classification of the product, not the price point.
The operators most exposed are still running the direct-from-overseas dropship model: order comes from the manufacturer, ships to the US customer, and the margin math was built on a landed cost that never included duties. At the old de minimis threshold, that worked. The cost basis assumed duty-free entry. That assumption is gone.
The fix is landed cost modeling at the SKU level. Every product needs a margin calculation that includes: manufacturer base cost + freight + applicable tariff rate + customs duties + last-mile delivery. If that number doesn't clear the contribution threshold required to justify the CAC at your blended ROAS, the margin problem isn't in the ad account.
For Shopify brand builders who've moved to domestic inventory or 3PL fulfillment with US-warehoused stock: direct exposure is lower, but worth auditing any components or input materials sourced internationally. The supply chain audit is a one-time exercise; the repricing is ongoing.
The policy direction isn't reverting to pre-2025. Landed cost needs to be in the unit economics before the next reorder cycle.
Ruslan co-founded Tegra in 2017. Runs the Google Ads practice - feed, PMax, search, attribution. Writes weekly about the parts of paid search operators are afraid to touch.