US to End de Minimis Exemption for All Countries Aug. 29

Starting at 12:01 EDT that day, all low-value packages that previously qualified for de minimis will have to have an ACE entry by a party qualified to make such entry, and the importer will have to pay duties and fees.

If the packages are coming through the international mail, however, importers can either pay the duties owed or a flat fee of $80 per item for goods from countries that have reciprocal tariffs of less than 16%, $160 for goods from countries with rates between 16% and 25%, and $200 per item for goods from countries with reciprocal tariffs of above 25%. That alternative methodology will be available for six months.

In an emailed fact sheet, the White House said that the volume of de minimis shipments this year has "skyrocketed," even after Chinese goods were made ineligible for the privilege. It said that from Oct. 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, there have been 309 million packages sent that way; however, if that number is accurate, that is a steep decline from the previous year, when 1.36 billion packages claimed de minimis.

A White House spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for clarification.

The fact sheet said "CBP is increasingly interdicting de minimis shipments where the certificate of origin is misrepresented in an attempt to circumvent duties."

The executive order noted that the original plan to eliminate commercial de minimis was in the orders related to fentanyl and migration, and said that it's also needed to make sure that reciprocal tariffs aren't evaded.

"Many shippers go to great lengths to evade law enforcement and hide illicit substances in imports that go through international commerce. These shippers conceal the true contents of shipments sent to the United States through deceptive shipping practices. Some of the techniques employed by these shippers to conceal the true contents of the shipments, the identity of the distributors, and the country of origin of the imports include the use of re-shippers in the United States, false invoices, fraudulent postage, and deceptive packaging," the order said. "The risks of evasion, deception, and illicit-drug importation are particularly high for low-value articles that have been eligible for duty-free de minimistreatment."

The order said if any of the actions taken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act -- on fentanyl or reciprocal tariffs -- "are held to be invalid, the suspension of, or continued suspension of, duty-free de minimis treatment, as detailed in this order, shall not be affected."

The order says that under IEEPA, the president has the authority to "'nullify' or 'void' exercising any right ... or privilege with respect to ... any property," and that can be used to suspend de minimis treatment.

Transportation carriers that are delivering postal packages from abroad must collect and remit the duties, the order says, and they must apply the flat fee or the Harmonized Tariff Schedule-based tariffs across all covered shipments, but can change its approach once a month, "or on another schedule determined to be appropriate by CBP, upon providing at least 24 hours’ notice to CBP."

CBP will require an importation and entry bond for informal entries, and international carrier bonds, the order said.

The National Council of Textile Organizations thanked Trump for the action.

"For eight years, NCTO has led critical efforts to close the de minimis backdoor pipeline for cheap, subsidized, and often illegal, toxic and unethical imports -- half of which are estimated to be textiles and apparel," the group said.