President Trump's decision to impose a large amount of tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, which was not well known but significantly changed in the ways that would be taxed online when entering the United States.
One of Trump's presidential orders increases the cost of 80 % or more of the United States importing e -commerce. This decision could change the landscape of online sales from Chinese vendors, such as SHEIN and TEMU, which quickly expanded market share by sending cheap products to the United States.
President's orders have erased the workaround that many companies have recently used since Trump, especially in his first term, imposed tariffs on Chinese products. With this provision, known as the de Minimis exception, specific products sent directly to consumers from online platforms have come to the United States without facing tariffs.
This obscure provision of the Trade Law supports the main business model. Many SHEIN, TEMU, and Amazon sellers have bypassed duties using de minimis exemption. With exemption, packages can be shipped from other countries without paying tariffs unless the cargo exceeds $ 800 per day.
However, critics say that the De Minimis scale has also helped to promote the American drug crisis. Imports using de minimis do not need to provide as much information as other packages and border protections to make it easier to process. In other words, the precursor used to make drugs and them means that the government can easily ship it to the United States without catching them.
De Minimis is derived from the trade law a century ago, aimed at shipments that are trivial so that it is not worthy of habits. However, the use of this rule exploded popularity.
A report published by Congress Research Services last week revealed that exports of Chinese low -value packages have surged $ 66 billion in 2023 in 2018. The biggest source of such a package. According to Federal Statistics, the country is in charge of about two -thirds of them and dispatched more than all other countries.
Carbates have benefited Chinese companies that ship millions of low -value packages directly to consumer entrance. The ability to bypass tariffs has helped Shein and Tem to provide low prices, gaining their popularity. According to parliamentary research services, the two companies are together to hold about 17 % of the US discounted e -commerce market for fasting, toys, and other consumer goods.
It offended the conventional retailer. This usually brings large amounts of shipments to warehouses that must be paid. Retailers such as Walmart and Amazon faced the pressure of traveling directly from China toward models of Temu and Shein models.
Express delivery companies such as Fedex and UPS have said that they are flying many Pacific packages from China and maintaining the exception of De Minimis.
But the Trump administration is focusing on targeting de minimis for another reason. It is a clear relationship with Fentanyl Trade. White House officials said in a Saturday reporter that this provision has led to a huge amount of tariff income and hinders the efforts of customs staff to catch the shipment of Fentanyl arriving in the package. 。
The group of law enforcement agencies, trade, and drug prevention groups sent a letter to Trump last month and called for the end of the trade exception, and said, “Fentanyl, Fentanyl's precursor, pill presses, and other illegal products from China. And other countries are overflowing.
This issue has been permeating for many years, but the efforts to limit or end the rules have recently gained momentum. The lawmakers are considering the law of the de Minimis rules, and the Biden administration proposed a change to reduce exceptions in China last year, but they have not yet been enforced.
Congress proposals to change De Minimis include luggage exemption from international travelers who brought up to $ 800 worth $ 800 to the United States, made a customs declaration, and missions and other missions and other missions at US Airport. You can avoid paying obligations at the entrance point. US.
In contrast, Trump's presidential order does not mention that it maintains the minimum exemption for the United States. Depending on how customs staff processes it, it can comply with the entry into the United States, which starts on Tuesday for Canada, Mexico, or people traveling from China.
Timothy C. Brightville, a Wiley Lane lawyer, said that the change made by the Trump administration had a broad impact on many companies and industries. He stated that various imported industries would “abuse” the minimum provisions and eliminate the omission would be consistent with the president's goal of dealing with Fentanyl shipment.
The Ministry of Commerce in China did not respond to Mr. Trump's decision on Monday. Shein and Temu did not respond to the comment request. The Chinese embassy spokesman said that China has firmly opposed tariffs and has no winner in the trade war.
Congress has raised the 2016 De Minimis exemption from $ 200 to $ 800 in response to complaints from customs staff in the United States. The United States is rising rapidly every year.
Many Americans purchase such a package, so this change involves economic costs. Survey has shown that completely eliminating the exceptions of de minimis can cost $ 11 billion to $ 13 billion for US consumers, damaging poor households and minority households. 。
Amit Kandelwal, an economist at Yale University, an author of the research clause, spent in his research in an improper amount of low -income Americans compared to wealthy consumers. He said he knew he was there.
“Low -income earners will be more hurt,” he said. “Domestic retailers and domestic producers will obviously benefit from taxing them, but they will be expensive.”
When the exception of de minimis is terminated, another interesting change occurs. The official value of trade with the United States and the US trade deficit rise quickly. The shipment of de minimis is not displayed in typical transaction data released by the census.
This change, according to the diplomatic council's economist Brad W. Casser, probably means that 100 billion dollars will be missing from official statistics. “It pulls the shadow trading back from the shadow.”
