The United States is suspending a “de minimis” exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the U.S. without facing tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Under an executive order signed<\/a> by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, packages valued at or under $800 US sent to the U.S. outside of the international postal network will now face “all applicable duties” starting Aug. 29, the White House said.<\/p>\n Trump earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong<\/a>, and the White House said the recently signed tax and spending bill repealed the legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on July 1, 2027.<\/p>\n “Trump is acting more quickly to suspend the de minimis exemption than the OBBBA requires, to deal with national emergencies and save American lives and businesses now,” the White House said in a fact sheet, referring to the bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.<\/p>\n Goods shipped through the postal system will face one of two tariffs: either an “ad valorem duty” equal to the effective tariff rate of the package’s country of origin or, for six months, a specific tariff of $80 US to $200 US depending on the country of origin’s tariff rate.<\/p>\n Sharp rise in annual shipments<\/p>\n Between 2015 and 2024, the annual volume of de minimis shipments entering the U.S. increased from 134 million shipments to over 1.36 billion shipments<\/a>. U.S. Customs processes more than four million daily<\/a> de minimis shipments.<\/p>\n This month, Reuters reported air cargo shipment volume from Asia<\/a> has declined by 10.7 per cent\u00a0since the U.S. cancelled the tax-free exemption for low-value packages from China early in May.<\/p>\n