Why the end of ‘de minimis’ can hurt consumers — especially lower-income ones
The containers were loaded and emptied on May 1, 2025 to the Port Jersey container terminal in New Jersey.
Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Getty Images
The Trump administration is scrapped on Friday “minimis” rule, which is likely to increase prices for consumers who buy cheap goods online and trigger short -term famine for specific products and trade experts.
“This is a major change for the US consumer, Rath said Rathna Shard, CEO of FloorCloud, a Logistics company.
‘Quite a big price increase’
The minimis exemption enables consumers to import goods worth $ 800 without tariffs, tasks and wages. The rule makes it cheaper for consumers who buy products directly from international sellers.
Experts, the volume of these low-valuable posts swollen in the midst of the rise of e-commerce, he said.
According to the US Customs and Border Protection, in 2024, the United States received a minimic post of more than twice the 637 million in 2020. data.
According to CBP data, the average minimum shipment was about $ 48 in 2024.
Sharad said that most of the posts came from China, which constitutes about 60% of the volume.
President Donald Trump ended his minimum exemption for China in May. Now he’s doing the same for the rest of the world.
Sharad will be slapped with cheap products purchased online and sent to the gates of consumers, whereas they had previously resorted to a package of over $ 800.
Beauty products from Korea, leather shoes from Italy, and all posts, including kitchen knives from Japan, will be subject to additional fees and taxes such as Trump administration’s most US trade partners.
“There may be a huge price increase for the consumer,” he said.
‘Poor Trade Policy’
Amazon Delivery Person Sorting Packages will be delivered, Manhattan, New York.
Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group through Getty Images
It will depend on many factors such as real price increase for consumers. Economists, country -specific tariff rates, the US on goods and production materials, and how businesses set up pricing, he said.
How would the end of Minimis affect some certain consumer goods, FloorCloud analysis:
- 30 dollars of slippers (light, premium cotton) from China will cost about $ 45;
- Nutritional supplements of $ 37 from Canada (facility -based, performance formulated) will increase 60%to $ 60;
- A 240 -dollar chef from Japan (with wooden stem and white steel) increased by 24%and costs $ 298.
Pablo Fajgelbaum, a professor of economics in Los Angeles, University of California, and Amit Khandelwal, Professor of Economics at Yale University, writes that de Minimis is a “poor trade policy”.
More than personal financing:
Rich Americans travel to Europe to get over tariffs for luxury goods
Why could it be time to diversify from S&P 500?
There are more changes for student loan reimbursement plans
The termination of the rule will damage disproportionately damaging to low -income and minority households that gain more financial benefit than duty exemption. research They published it in February.
“Most people [using the de minimis exemption] People who live with the budget and are worried about prices, “he said. I think some people will buy less. “
Not only consumers: Small businesses will have to adapt to the new regime, Lovely said Lovely.
Tariffs already said that when they increase their costs for goods and production materials such as steel and aluminum, they apply more pressure to them.
More transparency for imports
The Trump administration argues that he has scrapped the minimis rule. will limit Imitation by bad actors, illegal drugs and weapons trade.
Due to the government’s simplified customs permit procedures for themselves, to have little information about minimis Dech shipments, lawyers in the law firm Hogan Lovells written Lately.
Economists said that the collection of tasks related to more imports increases federal tax revenue.
However, strengthening the supervision of these posts creates a greater administrative burden and requires more manpower to scan the packages – all of them come at an extra cost for the federal government.
It is unclear whether the additional tax revenue collected by the federal government is heavier than extra costs. “I don’t think we really know.”
A US Customs and Border Protection Spokesperson could not comment on this story immediately.
Meanwhile, postal services in Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, England and other European countries Suspect Posts to the United States Confusion on questions such as how to collect customs duties.
Although the trade system will be set at the end, there may be delays and higher prices in the short term.
Ernie Tedeschi, the former chief economy of the White House Economic Advisors Council of the Biden University Budget Laboratory and the Biden administration, may be the lack of “found”.
“I do not say that this will have a major macroeconomic effect on the US,” Tedeschi said. He said. “This will cause too many headaches for some people.”
