U.S. Delays Mail Customs Rule That Threatened Cheaper Prescription Drug Orders From Canada

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (TodayViralUSA) — The Trump administration has delayed by 90 days new customs requirements for small international mail shipments, postponing a change that patient advocates warned could cut off Americans who rely on cheaper prescription drugs ordered from pharmacies in Canada and other countries.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday it moved the mandatory compliance date for a new international mail entry process from Oct. 22 to Jan. 20, 2027, and that procedures for international mail will not change before then. The original deadline fell 12 days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, in which household costs are a central issue.

What the rule would do

The process requires electronic filing for postal shipments that are subject to certain tariffs or fall under the jurisdiction of partner agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, and it involves a customs bond. Packages valued at $800 or less, which were previously exempt from duties under the so-called de minimis rule, would need to be logged in the agency’s Automated Commercial Environment system. The changes stem from President Donald Trump’s July 2025 executive order suspending the de minimis exemption, which the administration has linked to the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs through the mail.

CBP said the delay gives importers, brokers and logistics companies more time to update their systems, will help avoid disruptions and will close gaps exploited by smugglers. Its announcement did not mention medicines, and the rule does not name them.

Advocates call it a reprieve

The Canadian International Pharmacy Association had warned that most routine personal orders from licensed foreign pharmacies could be disrupted by the data and bonding requirements. Seventy-one members of Congress, led by Democratic Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, had urged agencies to hold off on applying the rules to prescription medicines unless personal-use orders were protected.

“For patients concerned about losing access to lower-cost prescriptions from abroad, this delay is a welcome reprieve, but not a permanent solution,” said Merith Basey, chief executive of Patients For Affordable Drugs.

The extension does not cancel the new framework or change FDA policy. The agency generally prohibits individuals from importing unapproved foreign drugs but uses enforcement discretion for personal imports in limited cases. The Department of Health and Human Services referred questions to CBP.