On Thursday, the White House announced its intention to address concerns raised by Democratic lawmakers about a legal loophole that enables manufacturers, predominantly from China, to evade tariffs on low-cost goods and flood the U.S. market with illegal and unsafe products.
The Biden administration aims to reform the “de minimis” exemption, which permits parcels valued at less than $800 to enter the U.S. without incurring duties. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, over 1 billion such parcels entered the country in fiscal year 2023.
White House officials attribute the more than fivefold increase in these low-value imports to the rise of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu. Both companies, significant players in the fast-fashion sector, were specifically mentioned by administration officials during a briefing with journalists on Thursday.
Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for international economics, stated that closing this loophole would significantly impact Chinese apparel imports and “drastically reduce the number of shipments entering through the de minimis exemption.”
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