Memo: Goodbye De Minimis

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📦 End of De Minimis
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💸 Russia chases energy cash
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🇹🇭 Thailand PM faces suspension

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Bye Bye De Minimis

The US just scrapped its long-standing “de minimis” exemption — the rule that let small packages under $800 slip in duty-free. Once meant to simplify mailing small items, it became the backbone of fast-and-cheap e-commerce from China. Now every parcel is paperwork, tariffs, and extra costs.

What’s going on?

For years, Shein, Temu, and countless other exporters surfed the de minimis loophole to flood US doorsteps with $12 T-shirts and trinkets. That flood — 1.4 billion parcels last year, three-quarters from China — became too big to ignore. The US worried about unfair competition, fentanyl, and forced-labour goods sneaking in. So Trump pulled the plug.

• 📈 The winners? US small businesses, who say they finally stand a chance without being undercut by factory-direct rivals. Customs has already raked in nearly half a billion dollars since May, and US-based online shops report sales are bouncing back.
• 📉 The losers? Shoppers who’ll now pay higher prices, wait longer, and deal with surprise tariffs at checkout. Big parcel carriers like UPS and DHL are adding paperwork surcharges, and some national postal services stopped sending US-bound packages altogether.

How does this impact Law Firms?