U.S. delays customs rule that threatened cheaper Canadian prescription drugs
The U.S. has pushed back a new customs rule for small mail shipments by 90 days, to Jan. 20. Patient groups had warned the rule could block or raise the cost of drugs people order from pharmacies in Canada. The old deadline was Oct. 22, less than two weeks before the midterm elections.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has delayed by 90 days a new rule for small international mail shipments that patient groups warned could disrupt mail-order prescriptions from Canada, Reuters and GBH reported.
CBP said Wednesday that it moved the required start date for the new mail entry process to Jan. 20, 2027, from Oct. 22, and that there will be no changes to mail entry rules before then. The old deadline was 12 days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, Reuters noted.
The rule targets the de minimis exemption, which let packages worth $800 or less enter the U.S. through a simple, duty-free process, the outlets reported. Under the new process, many shipments must be filed electronically and carry a customs bond, Reuters said, and GBH reported that they would need a licensed customs broker.
The FDA officially bars people from importing foreign prescription drugs but uses discretion in some cases, Reuters reported. Many Americans order medicine from Canada, where prices can be much lower. The Canadian International Pharmacy Association warned that most routine personal orders could be disrupted, and 71 members of Congress asked agencies to delay the rule for prescription drugs, according to Reuters.
"For patients concerned about losing access to lower-cost prescriptions from abroad, this delay is a welcome reprieve, but not a permanent solution," Merith Basey, CEO of Patients For Affordable Drugs, said, according to Reuters.
Anne Weirich of Brewster, Massachusetts, told GBH that she has ordered expensive medications from Canada for about five years and that her Canadian pharmacy warned it may stop shipping to U.S. patients. CBP said the delay gives shippers and brokers more time to adjust and pledged to help those who need it, GBH reported.
What we know: The rule's start date moved from Oct. 22 to Jan. 20, with no changes before then.
What we don't: Whether personal prescription orders will be exempted when the rule takes effect.
Where outlets agree Reuters and GBH both report that CBP pushed the rule's start date to Jan. 20 after warnings about access to Canadian drugs.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.