In 2022, during the last Congress, House Democrats passed the Import Security and Fairness Act, which would deny de minimis treatment for all Chinese merchandise.
The Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole launched today, representing thousands of voices, from the families of victims of fentanyl fatalities and nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations to labor unions, domestic law enforcement associations, domestic manufacturers, and business associations.
The roughly 485 million packages that come into the U.S. duty free via the de minimis loophole is “overwhelming” and that volume “makes it harder for us to police products for consumer safety,” James Joholske, director of the office of import surveillance at the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) told the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission on March 1
For the last five years, a cabal of attorneys and trade compliance professionals have been plotting to destroy what’s left of U.S. customs law. Their primary goal? Cementing the legal underpinnings of the de minimis loophole and getting ahead of the backlash. This is necessary for them, because the exponential growth of de minimis shipments…
Background De minimis is a regulatory loophole. It was morphed from a tiny customs administrative exception into a backdoor superhighway through our ports. The regulatory changes to de minimis enabled overseas vendors around the world to ship directly to American citizens, currently to the tune of two million per day. And they do this without…
On June 1, 2023, the United States and Taiwan signed “the first agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.” “Initiative”? “21st Century Trade”? Sleepy terms that convey a classic “nothing-burger”. But that’s never been the case with trade agreements. This agreement, ostensibly for Taiwan, sets out expectations for how the U.S. and Taiwan…
When it comes to duty-free China e-commerce, an advocacy group working for Amazon and Walmart tries to get the Senate Finance Committee on their side.
Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Trade released false government statistics. CBP’s Office of Trade stated that the total value of de minimis shipments fell from $67,039,140,875 in CBP’s FY 2020, down to $39,876,651,152 in FY 2021. These numbers are not accurate, and in fact are certainly a gross, material undervaluation,…
Homeland Security’s report to Congress on June 17 calls out Xinjiang Daqo New Energy, but leaves out its Shanghai operation listed on the NYSE.
Leading customs authorities make the case against de minimis commerce By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel “De minimis” treatment for imports, which is available if the shipper declares the value under $800, cannot be effectively policed, and undermines fundamental fairness. That was the message from top authorities in the customs field at a Washington International…
