Trump Suspends De Minimis Exemption for Shipping

TAKING DECISIVE ACTION GLOBALLY TO PROTECT AMERICANS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value shipments, closing the catastrophic loophole used to, among other things, evade tariffs and funnel deadly synthetic opioids as well as other unsafe or below-market products that harm American workers and businesses into the United States.

• President Trump is taking action to deal with the national emergencies that he has recently declared with respect to unusual and extraordinary threats to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.
• Effective August 29, imported goods sent through means other than the international postal network that are valued at or under $800 and that would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption will be subject to all applicable duties.
• For goods shipped through the international postal system, packages will instead be assessed duties according to one of the following methodologies:
  • Ad valorem duty: A duty equal to the effective tariff rate imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that is applicable to the country of origin of the product. This duty shall be assessed on the value of each package.
  • Specific duty: A duty ranging from $80 per item to $200 per item, depending on the effective IEEPA tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product. The specific duty methodology will be available for six months, after which all applicable shipments must comply with the ad valorem duty methodology.
• Longstanding exemptions under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(A) and (B) remain in place - meaning American travelers can still bring back up to $200 in personal items and individuals can continue to receive bona fide gifts valued at $100 or less duty-free.

COMBATTING ESCALATING DECEPTIVE SHIPPING PRACTICES, ILLEGAL MATERIAL, AND DUTY CIRCUMVENTION: President Trump is putting an end to the proliferation of shippers worldwide that, among other things, deceptively exploit the de minimis privilege in an effort to evade duties, inspection, and U.S. law.

• Packages entering the United States using the duty-free de minimis exemption are typically subject to less scrutiny than traditional imports; however, the packages can pose health, safety, national and economic security risks.
• Between 2015 and 2024, the volume of de minimis shipments entering the U.S. increased from 134 million shipments to over 1.36 billion shipments. On average, CBP processes over 4 million de minimis shipments into the U.S. each day.
• The de minimis exemption has been abused, with shippers sending illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, precursors, and paraphernalia into the United States in reliance on the lower security measures applied to de minimis shipments, killing Americans.
• Enforcement data consistently shows that de minimis shipments account for the majority of all cargo enforcement actions. In FY24, 90% of all cargo seizures originated as de minimis shipments, including:
  • 98% of narcotics seizures (by number of cases).97% of intellectual property rights seizures, totaling 31 million counterfeit items.
  • 77% of health and safety/prohibited items seizures totaling more than 20 million dangerous or illicit items (e.g., weapons parts and Glock switches).
• The volume of de minimis shipments, even from countries that historically have not been the primary source of de minimis abuse, has skyrocketed this year, with 309 million so far for FY25 (through June 30), compared to 115 million for all of FY24 resulting in significant lost revenue for the United States.
• CBP is increasingly interdicting de minimis shipments where the certificate of origin is misrepresented in an attempt to circumvent duties.

BUILDING ON A RECORD OF FIGHTING HARMFUL TRADE LOOPHOLES: President Trump is delivering on his promise to "put an end" to the "big scam" of de minimis shipments killing Americans and hurting U.S. businesses.

• In February, President Trump declared national emergencies on the United States' northern and southern borders, including the public health crisis caused by fentanyl and other illicit drugs.
• In April, President Trump declared a national emergency relating to the conditions underlying the United States' exploding trade deficit and the implications of that deficit for the United States' economy and national security.
• Effective May 2, President Trump suspended de minimis treatment for low-value packages from China and Hong Kong, which account for the majority of de minimis shipments to the United States.
• The President signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which permanently repeals the statutory basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide effective July 1, 2027.
• President Trump is acting more quickly to suspend the de minimis exemption than the OBBBA requires, to deal with national emergencies and save American lives and businesses NOW.