Trump suspends de minimis exemption for low-value imports

President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending what's known as a de minimis exemption allowing low-value parcels that are shipped to the United States to avoid tariffs.

The White House said it's closing what it called a "catastrophic loophole" that shippers use to "evade tariffs and funnel deadly synthetic opioids or below-market products" into the U.S. The order goes into effect Aug. 29.

The exemption had applied to parcels valued at $800 or less, and allowed overseas retailers to ship inexpensive goods to consumers in the U.S. tax-free.

"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," the White House said in a fact sheet outlining the new policy.

Mr. Trump in May ended the de minimis loophole for imports from China and Hong Kong, which had allowed retailers like Shein and Temu to ship ultra low-cost apparel and other goods to U.S.-based consumers at bargain-basement prices. Shipments from China and Hong Kong account for most de minimis shipments to the U.S. according to the White House.

The de minimis provision, which was added to the Tariff Act of 1930 several years after that law's passage, was intended to facilitate trade by eliminating the administrative burden of collecting modest import duties on low-cost goods.

The number of low-value parcels entering the U.S. has surged over the past decade. Between 2015 and 2025, that figure jumped from 134 million shipments per year to nearly 1.4 billion. Customs and Border Patrol processes more than 4 million de minimis shipments to the U.S. daily, according to the White House.

Retailers such as Shein and Temu were forced to scramble when the loophole for imports from China and Hong Kong was suspended earlier this year. China-based Temu halted shipments of Chinese goods to American customers and shifted to only selling products to U.S. shoppers that could be sourced from the company's U.S. warehouses.