The U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Tuesday to eliminate many Chinese products from the de minimis duty exemption for products valued at $800 or less.
The proposal was announced late last week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration but was not published in the Federal Register until Tuesday.
The proposed Trade and National Security Actions for Low-Value Shipments would eliminate the de minimis exemption for merchandise subject to specific trade and national security actions. Certain shipments claiming this exemption will be required to provide the 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classification for the imported low-value merchandise.
Specifically, the proposed rule proposes to exclude merchandise subject to tariffs imposed under Section 232, Section 201 and Section 301 from eligibility for duty-free treatment under the de minimis exemption.
Section 301 tariffs cover about 40% of U.S. imports.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “Both the volume and combined worth of low-value, or de minimis, shipments to the United States have risen significantly over the past 10 years. The exemption of these goods from duties or taxes has undermined American businesses and workers and flooded our ports of entry with foreign-made products, making CBP’s vital work screening these goods for security risks more difficult. The actions announced today to tighten this exemption will strengthen America’s economic and national security.”
Over the past decade, the number of shipments claiming the de minimis exemption increased by over 600% and reached 1.36 billion in fiscal 2024.
Then-National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said, “We cannot let Chinese-founded e-commerce platforms gain an unfair trade advantage while American businesses play by the rules. Today’s actions are an important step forward to level the playing field for American workers, retailers, and manufacturers and to enforce U.S. laws that protect the health and safety of our consumers.”
The proposed rule is open to comment for 60 days.
