The de minimis exemption has been leveraged by Chinese shopping companies, including Shein and Temu, to send millions of duty-free packages to the United States annually, maintaining low product prices for American consumers. This exemption also benefits marketplaces like eBay and Etsy that facilitate purchases from China-based sellers for people in the U.S.
If removed, the impact of scrapping the exemption might extend to Amazon, which recently unveiled a division for affordable products made in China, directly competing with Temu and Shein. Amazon has not yet provided a comment on this potential change.
Previously, the Trump administration attempted to eliminate the de minimis provision for Chinese packages in February through an executive order. However, the measure was quickly retracted when it became apparent that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lacked the resources to inspect the additional workload of millions of packages daily and enforce the correct tariffs. A new order indicates the duty-free exemption will end on May 2, allowing CBP several weeks to prepare.
According to Ram Ben Tzion, co-founder and CEO of the digital shipment vetting platform Publican, it is speculated that Trump might use the elimination of the de minimis exemption as a negotiating tool with China. If high tariffs replace the current policy, it could dramatically alter the e-commerce landscape in the U.S.
Some technology companies, particularly those with expertise in logistics and data analytics, might view Trump’s trade policies as opportunities. For instance, defense contractor Palantir quickly released a blog post promoting an AI service designed to integrate various data sources, assisting businesses in ensuring tariff-related decisions take full operational context into account.
Jay Gerard, head of customs and logistics at Mexico City-based tech and logistics startup Nuvocargo, states that although he is not in favor of tariffs, they have increased demand for the company’s services. Nuvocargo operates as a freight broker between Mexico and the U.S., providing software that aids customers in crossing the U.S. border and processing customs documents. The company anticipates increased customer activity in April, May, and June due to the tariffs.
However, Gerard describes the past month as chaotic for importers and shippers, with expensive delays. Earlier in March, a 25 percent tariff was temporarily imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports before being retracted shortly after. During that brief period, importers incurred significant costs. For example, if a freight truck crossed the border while the tariff was in effect, the importer would have been liable for a 25 percent duty, which would not apply if the truck crossed a day later.
