JGalt
Diamond Member
- Mar 9, 2011
- 78,699
- 101,488
- 3,635
It was about time we had a President who would do this. Our open-trade policies with China were allowing them to flood the country with tax and duty-free packages, many of which contained fentanyl. Up until now, small-dollar imports from China with a value of less than $800 were allowed into the U.S. duty-free and with little customs scrutiny. The $800 de minimis threshold, or the value under which duties are waived, has been abused, letting China send hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products into the U.S. market, undermining U.S. manufacturers and letting illicit substances into our communities.
There was a bipartisan bill in 2023 cosponsored by Senator JD Vance (R-OH), but Congress and the Biden/Harris administration were dragging their heels to get it passed.
"In 1938, Congress enacted Section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930, (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. §1321(a)(2)(C)) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to waive or reduce certain duties, fees, and other taxes “in order to avoid expense and inconvenience to the Government disproportionate to the amount of revenue that would otherwise be collected” on certain imported goods with a fair retail value in the country of shipment of $1 or less. Congress amended Section 321 several times to raise the threshold, ultimately increasing it to $800 in 2015. This provision is commonly known as the “de minimis” exemption."
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R48380
The Trump administration imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods that came into effect on Tuesday and moved to close the "de minimis" exemption that allows U.S. shoppers to avoid paying tariffs for shipments below $800.
The extra tariff and the elimination of de minimis follow repeated warnings by Trump that Beijing was not doing enough to halt the flow of fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid, into the U.S.
Reuters reported previously that Chinese suppliers use the duty-free provision to export chemical materials for fentanyl by disguising them as gadgets and other low-cost goods."
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us...incoming-packages-china-hong-kong-2025-02-05/
There was a bipartisan bill in 2023 cosponsored by Senator JD Vance (R-OH), but Congress and the Biden/Harris administration were dragging their heels to get it passed.
"In 1938, Congress enacted Section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930, (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. §1321(a)(2)(C)) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to waive or reduce certain duties, fees, and other taxes “in order to avoid expense and inconvenience to the Government disproportionate to the amount of revenue that would otherwise be collected” on certain imported goods with a fair retail value in the country of shipment of $1 or less. Congress amended Section 321 several times to raise the threshold, ultimately increasing it to $800 in 2015. This provision is commonly known as the “de minimis” exemption."
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R48380
US Postal Service suspends inbound parcels from China, Hong Kong
- Summary
- Closing de minimis provision will affect Shein, Temu, Amazon Haul shipments
- Experts doubt significant impact on Chinese e-commerce volumes
- SF Express, FedEx continue to offer courier services to US
- Four million de minimis packages sent to US per day in 2024, analyst says
The Trump administration imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods that came into effect on Tuesday and moved to close the "de minimis" exemption that allows U.S. shoppers to avoid paying tariffs for shipments below $800.
The extra tariff and the elimination of de minimis follow repeated warnings by Trump that Beijing was not doing enough to halt the flow of fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid, into the U.S.
Reuters reported previously that Chinese suppliers use the duty-free provision to export chemical materials for fentanyl by disguising them as gadgets and other low-cost goods."
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us...incoming-packages-china-hong-kong-2025-02-05/
