What will the end of the 'de minimis' rule mean for U.S. consumers?

The de minimis exemption historically allowed low-value imports to bypass tariffs and heavy customs processing. The U.S. raised its threshold to $800 in 2016, fueling a surge in small-package cross-border e-commerce and resulting in roughly 4 million de minimis packages processed daily. Supporters say the rule offers low prices to consumers; critics argue it harms U.S. businesses and permits unsafe or illicit items to enter without close inspection. An executive order suspending the de minimis rule for U.S. imports is taking effect, prompting shipping services worldwide to pause or adjust deliveries to update paperwork, payments, and compliance processes.

For nearly a century, the "de minimis" trade exemption let people skip import fees for shipping small stuff. But after the U.S. raised its limit to $800, that small stuff became big business, driven by online shopping. "We're talking about 4 million de minimis packages being processed a day," says Courtney Griffin of the Consumer Federation of America. The de minimis rule also became increasingly contentious.

Sweeping changes are arriving Friday, when President Trump's executive order suspending the de minimis rule for all U.S. imports takes effect. The shift is already rippling around the world: From Asia to Europe, shipping services are pausing their deliveries to the U.S., saying they need time to figure out how to revamp their paperwork and payment processes. So what will doing away with de minimis mean for consumers? Here's a quick guide:

De minimis is Latin, meaning something is "trifling or of little importance," according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. Dating back to the Tariff Act of 1930, the rule has let people avoid paying import tariffs and taxes on items of small value and minimized customs processing, including inspections. "It was never meant to be a commercial import route" in its first decades, says Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit advocacy group.

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