How US shoppers will be hit as tariff exemption ends
......
Last year, almost 1.4 billion packages - worth a total of more than
$64bn - entered America without being charged duties under a rule
called the de minimis exemption, according to US Customs.
....
Shipments under the exemption made up more than 90% of all the cargo
entering the country, according to US customs.
....
What's the de minimis rule?
De minimis is a Latin term that broadly translates to "about the
smallest things", often used in legal contexts to describe matters too
trivial to merit concern.
The de minimis exemption was introduced in 1938 to avoid the expense
of collecting only small amounts of import duties in the US.
The rule's threshold rose over the years, allowing e-commerce firms
and global retailers that ship small packages to the US to thrive.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnv7l575lgeo
Footnote - There have been items exempt from a tariff, but unknown if
this changed. Some items are not made in USA.
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