Low-cost e-drum imports are the latest victims of the US tariff campaign, with the country abolishing de minimis exemptions this week.
From August 29, all imports are now subject to tariffs, reversing a measure (de minimis) which allowed for low-value imports to enter duty-free and with minimal paperwork.
In the US, the threshold had been US$800 since 2016.
The cancellation of the duty-free measures will especially affect online marketplaces like Amazon, Temu, Shein and AliExpress which built their US business models around it.
E-drum suppliers like Diamond Electronic Drums, Jobeky, drum-tec and Thomann will also be affected.
Already, postal services around the world have halted parcel services to the United States to avoid the bolstered customs declaration requirements and the need to collect duties prior to goods entering the US.
In Europe, La Poste (France), Deutsche Post/DHL (Germany), Correos (Spain), Poste Italiane, and postal services in Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have suspended most US-bound parcels, citing insufficient time to implement new customs procedures.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Mail has halted US shipments temporarily (expected to resume later), and Austria’s postal service has also paused shipments, citing complexity and lack of clarity in the new regulations.
In Asia, Singapore’s SingPost and Thailand’s postal services have also announced temporary halts on outbound shipments to the US due to regulatory uncertainty, while India Post has limited or suspended the acceptance of parcels over US$100 destined for the US.
Australia Post is partially suspending US shipments (covering Business Contract, MyPost Business and retail packages), while continuing to accept letters and gifts under US$100. New Zealand Post has taken similar steps.
Meanwhile, Tokyo-based synth maker Sonicware has updated pricing information on its website in response to the implosion of tariffs by the United States.
It has suspended sales of its CyDrum drum synth, noting that “a 42.9% U.S. import duty applies to China-made products, including this item”.
Elsewhere, it points out that another product, made in Malaysia, is also off the menu for US customers, in response to the 19% import duty and the removal of the duty-free allowance for items under $800.
So far, there has been little evidence of the impact of the tariffs in the e-drum market, probably due to inventory hoarding in the lead-up to the imposition of the impost.
Industry publication Music Trades notes that “the Trump administration’s fluctuating tariff proposals reintroduced uncertainty into the (music) industry’s supply chain, which was finally settling into balance after nearly four years of COVID-related disruption”.
The analysis points out that importers loaded up on as much inventory as possible during the first four months of 2025, but imports have since plunged.
“In product categories dominated by Chinese suppliers with an effective 60% tariff rate for select products, imports during the second quarter collapsed,” the authors note.
Our March 7 article warned that the new tariffs on Chinese imports would inflate prices on entry-level e-drum kits — those dependably affordable starter models schools and new drummers rely on. At the time, analysts projected production shifts to Indonesia and Malaysia, although logistical costs would still land on consumers.