Trump ends De Minimis exemption, and this means Americans will actually be paying somewhere between $80 to $200 per package on international shipments. This import tax hike is going to hit around 1.36 billion packages annually, and it’s really escalating the US China trade war while also driving up online shopping costs for millions of consumers at the time of writing.
De Minimis Exemption Removal Sparks Import Tax Hike And Price Surge
Trump ends De Minimis treatment to close what the White House is calling a “catastrophic loophole” that was being used to evade tariffs and also funnel deadly synthetic opioids into America. The policy targets low-value shipments that previously entered duty-free, which is creating substantial online shopping costs for consumers right now.
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New Import Tax Structure Takes Effect
The increase in the import tax imposes stipulated duties, which are between 80 to 200 dollars per item and given the effective tariff rate of the country of origin. This literally marks a big change in the former system whereby under $800 packages imported duty-free had a direct effect on the nature of the US China trade war.
The White House had this to say:
“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.”
Consumer Impact And Implementation
Starting August 29, when Trump ends De Minimis exemption fully, consumers are facing dramatically higher online shopping costs. The policy affects packages valued at or under $800 that would otherwise qualify for duty-free treatment, and this creates an immediate import tax hike for international purchases right now.
Also Read: Bessent: China Must Act to End Trade War—Tariff Relief Hinges on Beijing
The administration has stressed that this move deals with the threats associated with national security not to mention economic-based issues especially the implication of the US-China trade war that require shipments to be conveyed duty-free.