Brands can now recover duties and taxes with built-in duty avoidance
SEATTLE, Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- FlavorCloud, the leading cross-border logistics platform, today announced its integration with Loop, giving merchants a powerful way to protect margins in the wake of the U.S. government's decision to suspend the $800 de minimis threshold on August 29, 2025.
The policy change, which eliminates duty-free entry for low-value imports, means every shipment into the U.S., regardless of value, will now require customs clearance and incur applicable duties and taxes unless it is processed accurately as a return for duty avoidance. For merchants, the impact is significant: international returns that previously avoided duties under the de minimis exemption will now be taxed on re-entry, creating the risk of paying duties and taxes twice on the same product. These added costs can significantly increase the total expense of processing a return.
The native FlavorCloud and Loop integration solves this problem by embedding duty avoidance directly into the returns workflow. Merchants using Loop and FlavorCloud can prevent double duty payments by structuring eligible returns as Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) and recover duties and taxes already paid on outbound shipments when goods are returned. The process is fully automated within the Loop platform, requiring no additional operational complexity.
"Suspending the de minimis threshold is one of the most impactful policy shifts in cross-border trade in decades," said Rathna Sharad, CEO and Co-founder of FlavorCloud. "Merchants now face a direct hit to profitability on every return back to the U.S. Our integration with Loop puts duty avoidance and drawback directly into the returns workflow, turning this regulatory burden into a competitive advantage."
"We're excited to partner with FlavorCloud to give our merchants a powerful new path to protect their margins," said Kristen Kelly, SVP of Product at Loop. "By embedding FlavorCloud's compliance and duty recovery expertise into Loop, brands can adapt quickly to these changes while keeping returns easy and transparent for their customers."
The combined solution also brings a multi-carrier network with optimized return rates and a fully trackable, compliant returns process to international shoppers. Loop's user-friendly interface enables consumers to initiate returns and receive automated labels and customs documentation, while FlavorCloud's technology manages customs clearance, compliance, and carrier routing across more than 220 markets.
Integration Highlights
- Duty Avoidance – Prevent double payment of duties/taxes and avoid thousands in unnecessary duty and tax costs each year, protecting profitability on international sales.
- Duty Drawback That Pays Merchants Back – Where available, refunds duties and taxes paid on the original sale when eligible items are returned, putting that money back in the merchant's pocket and saving thousands each year.
- Full Tracking Visibility – Real-time updates in Loop, reducing refund delays and support inquiries by up to 40%.
- Multi-Carrier Support – Works across express carriers globally and standard carriers in key countries, independent of outbound carrier choice.
Global Impact
Global reverse logistics is valued at $1.3 trillion today and is projected to triple to $4 trillion by 2034. Cross-border returns are one of the fastest-growing segments, with annual volumes expected to increase 15 to 20 percent per year. The suspension of the U.S. de minimis threshold will accelerate both the complexity and cost of this growth, making duty avoidance and duty drawback an essential capability for global brands.
By combining Loop's intuitive, shopper-first returns experience with FlavorCloud's compliance automation and carrier network, merchants can now deliver an end-to-end global returns process that protects profitability and builds customer loyalty in a changing trade environment.
About FlavorCloud
FlavorCloud powers the industry's largest, carrier agnostic, AI enabled cross-border network optimizing shipping and returns "anywhere to anywhere." With DTC and B2B services spanning 220+ countries and a 300+ carrier network, FlavorCloud enables brands and 3PLs to operate seamlessly on a global scale. Its technology uses deep learning and AI to power carrier selection, optimize supply chains, and automate product classification, customs, and trade compliance. Visit https://flavorcloud.com to learn more.
About Loop Returns
Loop is the industry's leading commerce operations platform that empowers Shopify brands to streamline their entire customer journey, reduce friction, and maximize revenue. Its end-to-end approach integrates capabilities that help brands simplify their operations and delight customers, from initial orders to returns and exchanges. Offering features like Workflows, Instant Exchanges, Offset, and AI-powered tracking and visibility, Loop reduces costs, increases customer lifetime value, and retains revenue for more than 5,000 of the world's most-loved Shopify brands. Loop has processed over 55 million returns and counting, and has helped merchants capture more than $2 billion in revenue over the past five years while delivering exceptional customer experiences. Learn more at www.loopreturns.com.
Media Contact
Rachel Trindade, FlavorCloud, 1 (855) 242-9969, [email protected], https://flavorcloud.com
SOURCE FlavorCloud
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