'De Minimis' Tariff Exemptions End For Low-Value U.S. Packages Shipped From Abroad

American consumers will likely see higher prices.

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) — The U.S. tariff exemption for package shipments valued under $800 ended on Friday, raising costs and disrupting supply chain models for e-commerce companies, small businesses using online marketplaces and consumers alike.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting normal duty rates on all global parcel imports, regardless of value, country of origin, or mode of transportation at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Friday. It offered a flat-rate duty option of $80 to $200 per package shipped from foreign postal agencies for six months.

The change broadens the Trump administration’s cancellation of the de minimis exemption for packages from China and Hong Kong in May as part of an effort to halt shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the U.S..

“President Trump’s ending of the deadly de minimis loophole will save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous prohibited items, and add up to $10 billion a year in tariff revenues to our Treasury,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters on Thursday.

A senior administration official said the change was permanent, adding that any push to restore the exemptions for trusted trading partner countries was “dead on arrival.”