[CTC] De Minimis Truths & Myths

[Arthur Stamoulis]

TRUTHS AND MYTHS ABOUT THE 8/29/25 END OF THE DE MINIMIS TRADE LOOPHOLE TO
U.S. CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT


With the deadline looming this Friday, August 29, 2025, for the global
termination of the de minimis trade loophole to U.S. Customs enforcement,
interest in the loophole is increasing. Lori Wallach, director of American
Economic Liberties Project’s Rethink Trade program, is available for
interview. Some factoids that may be useful:


· Less than 10% of De Minimis Entries Are by Post, so Why the Big Hubbub
About Temporary Suspensions of “Low-Value” Commercial Shipments from
Foreign Postal Services?: The flurry of coverage about other countries’
post office systems temporarily suspending commercial shipments of
low-value goods to the United States is certainly disproportionate to the
impact it will have on U.S. consumers. People will still be able to order
goods online and have them delivered to their houses speedily. The
difference is that, after Friday, goods valued under $800 will no longer be
allowed to enter the United States without standard U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) forms listing where the good was produced, information
about the sender, and a tariff code describing precisely what it is or
without payment of applicable tariffs. Having the additional information
filed online, which will be required for the vast majority of packages
under $800 in value that enter the United States via systems other than
postal, will make it easier to identify and remove forced-labor, dangerous,
and fake goods and to inspect the goods—baby products, medicines, and
more—on high-risk import lists that receive targeted screening when
imported in container ports. (See Section 4 of this Federal Register notice
for the data on shipment modes and entry types that shows in 2023, 8% of de
minimis entries were postal.) U.S. express delivery firms FedEx and UPS
have not suspended their services for imports valued under $800 and, as
expected for sophisticated global logistics firms, have updated their
consumer-facing websites to accommodate the change.


· Foreign Postal Agencies Can Continue to Use the Procedures/Forms/Tariff
Payment Systems They Already Use for Packages Heading to the U.S. Valued
Over $800 or, for a Six-Month Transition Period, Can Use Flat-Fee Entry: It
is a bit of a mystery why some other countries’ postal services are
temporarily suspending deliveries of low-value commercial packages to the
United States. The suspensions apply only to commercial shipments, not to
items sent person-to-person. However, procedures for shipping low-value
goods to the United States after the de minimis loophole is closed were
included in the July 30 Executive Order finalizing the termination of de
minimis that was first announced in April. In sum: Postal agencies can use
the same procedures/forms/ad valorem tariff payment system they have been
using for shipments valued over $800 going to the United States.
Alternatively, for a six-month period ending in February 2026, packages
valued under $800 can enter paying a flat fee per package set in a range
related to the tariff rate of the country of origin of the goods. (Given
the flat fee schedule, this option only makes sense for more valuable
goods.) These two options were included in the July EO and detailed in a
“Global Guidance for International Mail” issued a few weeks ago by CBP.
Non-postal shippers, such as express carriers and e-commerce firms with
their own delivery infrastructure, are to use CBP’s online system (aka the
Automated Commercial Environment or ACE), which they already use, the entry
form appropriate to the value of the good and the tariff payment system to
which they are already subscribed.


· De Minimis Imports from China Ended in May 2025, Meaning Already We Have
Experienced a 60-76% Drop in Such Imports Without the Price Spikes, Supply
Chain Collapse or Delivery Delays Predicted by De Minimis Defenders: Given
the majority of de minimis shipments came from China—up to 76% of such
packages in recent years and more than 60% in 2024—the lack of major
disruptions when de minimis treatment was terminated for China four months
ago suggests that the doomy warnings from large e-commerce firms and
express shippers reflect their unhappiness about the end of this
boondoggle, not a prediction of how the policy change will affect most of
us.


Learn more about Rethink Trade here. Learn more about Economic Liberties
here



Lori Wallach, director Rethink Trade

www.Rethinktrade.org Twitter @wallachlori



Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826
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