President Donald Trump announced his promised tariffs on Saturday and paused those levied against Mexico and Canada on Monday for 30 days. In addition to threatening to impose double-digit duties on all products imported from Canada, Mexico, and China (whose tariffs took effect on Tuesday), each of the president's executive orders eliminates duty-free exemptions for low-dollar-value imports, known as de minimis exemptions. Eliminating these exemptions would increase the price of goods from international bargain brands enjoyed by cash-strapped consumers.
De minimis is Latin for "concerning trifles," per Merriam-Webster. The aptly named exemption applies to shipments "imported by one person on one day having an aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipment of not more than $800," according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports that the U.S. imported $54.5 billion worth of de minimis products in 2023, 34 percent ($18.4 billion) of which came from China.
Chinese e-commerce firms Temu and Shein had grown to make up 17 percent of the entire American discount market by 2023, according to the CRS. These discount brands contract with Chinese firms to make and ship goods directly to consumers, avoiding expensive tariffs via de minimis, explains Bloomberg. This business model caters to lower-income Americans who are willing to wait weeks instead of days to save more of their hard-earned dollars. Eliminating the de minimis exemption means that the cheap consumer goods sold by these brands will be subjected to the additional 10 percent duty on Chinese products, some fraction of which will inevitably be passed on to American consumers.
