Updated 2026-10-14
案内 US import duty on Japanese trading cards
The general playing-card tariff rate, what a 2026 ruling did not decide, and why the calculator’s extra-duty box starts at zero.
People ask whether a Japanese card “gets duty.” The useful answer has two layers, and only one of them is a clean number.
The general rate
Playing cards sit in HTS 9504.40.00.00. The general rate is Free. The USITC HTS search, re-read on 14 October 2026, still showed Free, and the additional duties field on that line was empty. The calculator stores 0%. CBP ruling N359352, from March 2026, classified Pokémon trading cards from Japan in 9504.40.0000. The ruling says, in the text around it, that it does not decide extra duties under Chapter 99.
HTS 9903.05.49 states 12.5% for articles the product of Japan whose column 1 rate is under 12.5%, except headings 9903.05.85 through 9903.05.92, and only as provided in U.S. note 52. That note’s product list was not confirmed for playing cards, so 12.5% is not the default. Our own September 2026 shipments to the United States saw about 12–15%. That range is anecdotal. It is not typed into Extra duty.
So the calculator’s US duty line is 0%, and it is not marked Estimate. The extra-duty percent next to it is marked Estimate, because that is the slot for a Chapter 99 rate or a brokerage charge you were actually quoted. Leave it at 0 if you do not have one. Do not type a number you saw in a forum.
There is no US federal VAT. State use tax is not in the total.
De minimis
For years, a parcel at or under $800 could enter without duty under the administrative exemption. On 24 June 2026 the Federal Register published an indefinite suspension of that exemption for merchandise arriving by international mail. CBP’s e-commerce FAQ describes the same suspension for low-value shipments, postal and non-postal. The rule and the FAQ are the sources linked from the US row on the fee page. A card under $800 is not automatically a non-event at customs anymore. The suspension does not itself set a rate. The general playing-card rate can still be zero. The paperwork and any carrier brokerage fee are a different bill. We do not have a sourced brokerage number, so we do not invent one.
Other countries, briefly
The United Kingdom’s standard VAT is 20%. Canada’s federal GST is 5%, and provincial tax is not included until you edit the percent. Australia’s GST is 10%, and ZenMarket says they collect it at or under AUD 1,000. The EU line is 20% and marked Estimate because there is no single EU rate. Duty for those countries is left at 0% and marked Estimate. Type the rate from the tariff site linked on the fee row.
None of this is a filing. If a broker’s invoice disagrees with the calculator, the invoice wins, and the extra-duty field is how you make the link you share match it.
Questions
Is the US duty rate on playing cards zero?
The general HTS rate for 9504.40.00.00, playing cards, was Free on the USITC schedule re-read 14 October 2026. That is the calculator default. HTS 9903.05.49 is not applied, because U.S. note 52 was not confirmed for this heading. Extra duty stays at 0 until you type a percent.
Does the 800 dollar de minimis exemption still waive duty on mail?
A Federal Register rule published 24 June 2026 suspends the de minimis exemption for merchandise imported by international mail. Do not assume a small card skips customs paperwork because it is under 800 dollars.