The Biden-Harris Administration has announced new measures to enforce U.S. laws and protect Americans by addressing the significant increase in the abuse of the de minimis exemption, particularly focusing on China-founded e-commerce platforms and shipments that violate U.S. laws.

According to a fact sheet, the number of shipments entering the United States claiming the de minimis exemption has increased significantly over the last decade, soaring from approximately 140 million to over one billion annually. This exponential increase makes it difficult to enforce U.S. trade laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights, consumer protection rules, and to block illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.

Most of these shipments originate from several China-founded e-commerce platforms, according to the fact sheet. The administration says this puts American consumers at risk and undercuts American workers and businesses. It results in the importation of a significant volume of low-value products such as textiles and apparel into the U.S. market duty-free.

A shipment is eligible for the de minimis exemption if the aggregate fair retail value of the articles imported is $800 or less, according to the fact sheet. However, shipments under this exemption enter the country with less information than other imports and are not subject to duties and taxes.

Actions taken by the administration include a new rulemaking to reduce de minimis volume and strengthen trade enforcement under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Amongst other things, it proposes requiring specific additional data for de minimis shipments, including the 10-digit tariff classification number and the person claiming the de minimis exemption. This will improve targeting of de minimis shipments and facilitate expedited clearance of lawful de minimis shipments.