Trump Administration Suspends De Minimis Tariff Exemption

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order suspending duty-free de minimis tariff exemptions for low-value shipments —t hose valued at $800 or less — from all countries.

The order will take effect Aug. 29, 2025. For goods shipped through the international postal system, packages will instead be assessed duties according to one of the two following methodologies:

• Ad valorem duty: A duty equal to the effective tariff rate imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that is applicable to the product’s country of origin. This duty will be assessed on the value of each package.
• Specific duty: A duty ranging from $80 per item to $200 per item, depending on the effective IEEPA tariff rate applicable to the product’s country of origin. The specific duty methodology will be available for six months, after which all applicable shipments must comply with the ad valorem duty methodology.

In its decision, the Trump administration argued U.S. trading partners had exploited the de minimis exemption, flooding the U.S. market with goods that undercut U.S. manufacturers and cost U.S. jobs. The administration also said the exemption allowed drug cartels and other criminal organizations to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the United States.

According to a White House fact sheet, over the past decade, the volume of de minimis shipments into the United States grew from 134 million shipments in 2015 to more than 1.36 billion shipments in 2024. Additionally, the White House said de minimis shipments accounted for 90 percent of all cargo seizures in fiscal year 2024.