American “de minimis” Exemption. Nice while it lasted?

[Ron in Regina]

U.S. shoppers ordering smaller goods from abroad are being met with waves of cancellation notices ahead of a key trade rule change ordered by the Trump administration.

On Friday, the United States will end the nearly century-old de minimis exemption, which allowed items worth less than $800 to be shipped to the country duty-free, or without having to pay any tariffs.

In advance of the official termination date for the exemption, many European nations, alongside Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand, have announced temporary suspensions of U.S.-bound shipments.

On Thursday, Mexico's postal service announced it was temporarily suspending package deliveries to the U.S. due to the pending changes in the de minimis rule. Oh well.

Shoppers see order cancellations as world shuts down U.S.-bound shipments — NBC News

The end of the “de minimis” exemption for cheap parcel shipments, nearly a century old, is prompting countries everywhere to suspend shipments to the U.S.

apple.news

U.S. e-commerce hubs have been posting notices warning customers about shipping disruptions. Last week, Etsy announced it would no longer process purchases for goods sent via Australia Post, Canada Post and the United Kingdom’s Evri and Royal Mail services, in anticipation of those firms shutting down U.S. deliveries.

Several Countries Suspend Postal Shipments To The US—Here’s Why — Forbes

The de minimis exemption, which allowed imported packages worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. without facing any duties, will end for all countries on August 29.

apple.news

“Given the complexities, legal requirements, and poor experience, many postal providers will be suspending” delivery options to the U.S., Etsy said.

Online auction site eBay has likewise warned that sellers who rely on foreign postal services may have to find alternative shipping processors to get their products to U.S. customers. On Thursday, Canada Post said it had contracted with a third-party duty processor to keep parcels flowing into the U.S.

While foreign postal systems have no problem making deliveries to the U.S., they don’t have systems in place to process a tariff and pay it into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Layfield said.

In essence, the Trump administration is now asking foreign mail carriers to act as import tax collectors on behalf of the U.S. government — something they are not set up to do, or may be refusing to do, she said.

“Why would a foreign post collect from a local business for a foreign country’s customs?” Layfield said. ”It’s not something that anyone has done before.

Over 30 countries suspended or restricted shipments to US. Here's a list. — USA TODAY

The pauses are in response to President Donald Trump's decision to end a trade agreement that for years allowed low-value packages to avoid duties.

apple.news

De minimis, which means “of trifling importance,” was set up to spare the U.S. government from having to collect duties on imports of little value. It started in 1938, under the Tariff Act of 1930, allowing for imports of up to $1 in value to enter the U.S. duty-free.

While many countries offer some form of a de minimis exemption, Washington’s level became an outlier. Over time, the values grew. By 2015, it was $200, with roughly 134 million de minimis parcels entering the U.S. A year later, the limit rose to $800, and 220 million packages flooded in, and by last year, a whopping 1.36 billion units arrived.

Now the US can go from feast to famine?

Trump killed a tariff exemption for small shipments and now Canadian businesses are scrambling — National Post

Thousands of entrepreneurs are looking for U.S. warehouse space, but they’ve only been given a few weeks

apple.news

 

[petros]

View attachment 30817
U.S. shoppers ordering smaller goods from abroad are being met with waves of cancellation notices ahead of a key trade rule change ordered by the Trump administration.

On Friday, the United States will end the nearly century-old de minimis exemption, which allowed items worth less than $800 to be shipped to the country duty-free, or without having to pay any tariffs.

In advance of the official termination date for the exemption, many European nations, alongside Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand, have announced temporary suspensions of U.S.-bound shipments.

On Thursday, Mexico's postal service announced it was temporarily suspending package deliveries to the U.S. due to the pending changes in the de minimis rule. Oh well.

Shoppers see order cancellations as world shuts down U.S.-bound shipments — NBC News

The end of the “de minimis” exemption for cheap parcel shipments, nearly a century old, is prompting countries everywhere to suspend shipments to the U.S.

apple.news

U.S. e-commerce hubs have been posting notices warning customers about shipping disruptions. Last week, Etsy announced it would no longer process purchases for goods sent via Australia Post, Canada Post and the United Kingdom’s Evri and Royal Mail services, in anticipation of those firms shutting down U.S. deliveries.

Several Countries Suspend Postal Shipments To The US—Here’s Why — Forbes

The de minimis exemption, which allowed imported packages worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. without facing any duties, will end for all countries on August 29.

apple.news

“Given the complexities, legal requirements, and poor experience, many postal providers will be suspending” delivery options to the U.S., Etsy said.

Online auction site eBay has likewise warned that sellers who rely on foreign postal services may have to find alternative shipping processors to get their products to U.S. customers. On Thursday, Canada Post said it had contracted with a third-party duty processor to keep parcels flowing into the U.S.

While foreign postal systems have no problem making deliveries to the U.S., they don’t have systems in place to process a tariff and pay it into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Layfield said.

In essence, the Trump administration is now asking foreign mail carriers to act as import tax collectors on behalf of the U.S. government — something they are not set up to do, or may be refusing to do, she said.

“Why would a foreign post collect from a local business for a foreign country’s customs?” Layfield said. ”It’s not something that anyone has done before.

Over 30 countries suspended or restricted shipments to US. Here's a list. — USA TODAY

The pauses are in response to President Donald Trump's decision to end a trade agreement that for years allowed low-value packages to avoid duties.

apple.news

De minimis, which means “of trifling importance,” was set up to spare the U.S. government from having to collect duties on imports of little value. It started in 1938, under the Tariff Act of 1930, allowing for imports of up to $1 in value to enter the U.S. duty-free.

While many countries offer some form of a de minimis exemption, Washington’s level became an outlier. Over time, the values grew. By 2015, it was $200, with roughly 134 million de minimis parcels entering the U.S. A year later, the limit rose to $800, and 220 million packages flooded in, and by last year, a whopping 1.36 billion units arrived.

Now the US can go from feast to famine?

Trump killed a tariff exemption for small shipments and now Canadian businesses are scrambling — National Post

Thousands of entrepreneurs are looking for U.S. warehouse space, but they’ve only been given a few weeks

apple.news

They cut off Temu? Oh no!

 

[Ron in Regina]

Is it just Temu? Or is it more than Temu? It’s interesting that this “de minimis” exemption going out has been in place since 1938.

It’s also interesting that other nations postal services aren’t interested in collecting America’s taxes for them, & at this point would just rather pass then scramble and figure out a system in order to do Americas job for them.

Service suspensions differ by country. Many postal services will continue to mail letters to the US but have suspended postage of any package of goods worth under $800.

Letters and personal gifts under US$100 will still technically be exempt from tariffs after Friday but some services have suspended all US postage of goods and others have suspended postage to the US entirely.

Packages that had already been shipped to the US and arrive before Friday will not attract tariffs. Those that arrive after Friday may be returned to sender to avoid incurring fees, Belgium’s bpost said, while New Zealand’s service said it would hold the receiver responsible for all duties and taxes.
International postal services in nearly 30 countries had suspended some services to the US by Tuesday.

Services in 22 European countries – including the UK, France, Germany and Italy – have suspended some deliveries since Friday. PostEurop said its members, including a further 32 postal services, could be forced to restrict shipping.

In Asia and the Pacific, services in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore have suspended some or all deliveries.

Postal services around the world suspend deliveries to US: how will it affect you?

Suspensions including from Australia and Europe come after Donald Trump removed a rule exempting parcels worth less than US$800 from his tariffs

www.theguardian.com

All countries facing tariffs will now be affected by the removal of the de minimis exemption…so pretty much every nation except…Russia?

Australia’s small businesses, for example, face unprecedented disruption following the decision by Australia Post to suspend United States-bound small parcel services, following the US decision to eliminate the “de minimis” exemption that had enabled duty-free entry of parcels valued at US$800.

The US policy change, which will take effect from 29 August, subjects all shipments from Australia to a 10% tariff that must be collected upfront. The requirement of upfront collection, which is unusual to say the least, is a real challenge for postal services which are not designed to collect tariffs for importing nations.

So, 2/3rd of packages affected are your Temu & such from China, the remaining 1/3 are just collateral damage from the other 194 nations then? That about right?

 

[petros]

Is it just Temu? Or is it more than Temu? It’s interesting that this “de minimis” exemption going out has been in place since 1938.

It’s also interesting that other nations postal services aren’t interested in collecting America’s taxes for them, & at this point would just rather pass then scramble and figure out a system in order to do Americas job for them.

Service suspensions differ by country. Many postal services will continue to mail letters to the US but have suspended postage of any package of goods worth under $800.

Letters and personal gifts under US$100 will still technically be exempt from tariffs after Friday but some services have suspended all US postage of goods and others have suspended postage to the US entirely.

Packages that had already been shipped to the US and arrive before Friday will not attract tariffs. Those that arrive after Friday may be returned to sender to avoid incurring fees, Belgium’s bpost said, while New Zealand’s service said it would hold the receiver responsible for all duties and taxes.
International postal services in nearly 30 countries had suspended some services to the US by Tuesday.

Services in 22 European countries – including the UK, France, Germany and Italy – have suspended some deliveries since Friday. PostEurop said its members, including a further 32 postal services, could be forced to restrict shipping.

In Asia and the Pacific, services in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore have suspended some or all deliveries.

Postal services around the world suspend deliveries to US: how will it affect you?

Suspensions including from Australia and Europe come after Donald Trump removed a rule exempting parcels worth less than US$800 from his tariffs

www.theguardian.com

All countries facing tariffs will now be affected by the removal of the de minimis exemption…so pretty much every nation except…Russia?

Australia’s small businesses, for example, face unprecedented disruption following the decision by Australia Post to suspend United States-bound small parcel services, following the US decision to eliminate the “de minimis” exemption that had enabled duty-free entry of parcels valued at US$800.

The US policy change, which will take effect from 29 August, subjects all shipments from Australia to a 10% tariff that must be collected upfront. The requirement of upfront collection, which is unusual to say the least, is a real challenge for postal services which are not designed to collect tariffs for importing nations.

I've brought this up months ago. Its a fucking scam..

There isn't a single postal rate for all "developing nations"; however, historically, countries like China had preferential rates due to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) system, which provided lower terminal dues for less developed economies. Following UPU reforms in 2019, the system shifted to self-declared rates for high-volume importers, moving toward a more uniform pricing structure and ending the previous practice of some nations subsidizing others' international shipping.

How the System Works


Terminal Dues System:
The UPU oversees a system where countries pay each other for handling international mail and parcels.

Country Classification:
Countries were previously grouped based on their economic and postal development, with lower rates for less developed nations.

Self-Declared Rates:
The 2019 UPU reforms allowed high-volume importing countries, such as the United States, to set their own rates for incoming foreign mail and packages.

Shift Towards Parity:
This change aimed to reduce economic distortions and establish parity with comparable domestic shipping services, meaning that countries no longer subsidize international shipments to the same extent.


Historical Context

China's Preferential Rates:

For many years, countries like China, considered a developing nation, received subsidized rates for their outbound mail.

The "Subsidizing" Effect:
Richer nations effectively subsidized the shipments from these countries because the rates were much lower than the cost of domestic shipping.

UPU Reform:
The 2019 UPU reform phased out these preferential rates over five years to create a more equitable international postal system.


Shop like a billionaire!

 

[Ron in Regina]

Yeah, I’ve read that it’s cheaper to ship the same size/weight package from Shanghai to southern Virginia than it is to ship it from northern to southern Virginia. That’s not right, but by the same token, America wanting 194 other nations to do its homework for it isn’t right either…so what’s the workable answer here?

 

[petros]

Yeah, I’ve read that it’s cheaper to ship the same size/weight package from Shanghai to southern Virginia than it is to ship it from northern to southern Virginia. That’s not right, but by the same token, America wanting 194 other nations to do its homework for it isn’t right either…so what’s the workable answer here?

Workable answer? Standardized dimensional rates. $15 in subsidies for 99 cent "free shipping" socks is flat out out fucking retarded.

It shouldn't be no more than $3 to ship a VHS tape size parcel to Botswana or to Newfoundland.

$18 to Newfoundland if I forward 99 cent free shipping Chinese Temu socks from SK.

 

[Ron in Regina]

So, 2/3rd of packages affected are your Temu & such from China, the remaining 1/3 are just collateral damage from the other 194 nations then? That about right?

For years, the U.S. government had expressed concern that de minimis shipments were being used to smuggle deadly opioids into the country, because they're not inspected as closely by U.S. Customs. It first suspended the exemption for shipments from China earlier this year, a policy change that hit big e-sellers like Shein and Temu.

Canada has its own de minimis exemption for goods from the U.S. and Mexico up to $150.

But the end of the U.S. de minimis for the rest of the world, including Canada, will impact mom-and-pop shops "disproportionately," according to John Boscariol, a trade expert and partner at McCarthy Tetrault in Toronto.

"Many of them who have relied on these low-value shipments to the United States as part of their bread and butter for survival are being hit by this, and possibly may have to go out of business."

Canadians can still send letter mail and gifts under $100 US to the U.S. for no extra cost, and companies that meet the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)'s rules of origin will, in theory, still be able to ship duty-free. To qualify, a product must meet specific criteria, like having at least a certain percentage of it made in North America.

However, even in those cases, small and medium-sized businesses aren't totally off the hook, said Boscariol, pointing to extra administrative costs for customs clearance — like brokerage fees for companies that have to prove their shipments are compliant.

Small businesses that relied on duty-free U.S. shipping wonder if they can survive without it — CBC News

As of Friday, Canada's small businesses can no longer ship small packages to the U.S. duty-free — and some online sellers are worried that their companies won't survive the hit.

apple.news

 

[Ron in Regina]

From Friday, imports valued at $800 (£592) or less will no longer be duty-free and will face tighter customs checks, in a move set to affect millions of shipments a day.

Experts say US President Donald Trump's policy change will hit small businesses hardest and shoppers should brace for higher prices and fewer options - at least until the dust settles.

With the necessary documentation, shippers will pay duties based on the country of origin's tariff rate. Otherwise, they can choose to pay a fixed fee between $80 and $200 per package, according to the White House. The second option, which is aimed to give postal services more time to adjust to the change, will only be available for six months.

US consumers may see less variety of goods in shops and on e-commerce platforms as businesses get to grips with customs documentation, trade experts have told the BBC.

Smaller firms need time to adjust as they have mostly been spared from such paperwork until now, said Tam Nguyen from logistics administration firm GOL Solution. The company handles exports from South East Asia to the US.

"You need to indicate the source of all the materials in a product, which can come from many countries with different tax rates. This would absolutely make shipments slower." The complexity could deter sellers from offering a broader range of products for export, she added. That could have a particular impact on more niche markets.

Without the exemption, businesses will have to factor in tariffs the US has imposed on the country of origin, which came into effect for most nations in August.

Those levies can be as low as 10% for countries like the UK and Australia, while goods from Brazil and India face the highest tariffs at 50%.

Following the change, specific duties will be imposed of $80 per item for countries with tariffs of 16% or less, $160 for shipments from countries with between 16% and 25% tariffs or $200 for items from countries with higher tariffs.

A senior administration official downplayed consumer concerns, saying that the move will "benefit" Americans by making them "safer" and "prosperous”?

How US shoppers will be hit as tariff exemption ends — BBC News

Lower-price goods will no longer be duty-free, in a move that will affect millions of shipments.

apple.news

 

[Ellanjay]

US-China Trade Talks: Who Holds the Leverage; De Minimis Duty-Free Rule Ends | China in Focus​

[VIDEO]

The U.S. Treasury secretary says "all options are on the table" in trade talks with China. Another round could happen as early as late October. So where does the standoff stand—and what leverage does each side hold? Packages under $800 can no longer enter the U.S. duty-free. The Trump administration just ended the "de minimis" rule on Friday. What does this mean for U.S. shoppers and businesses? A Chinese regime-linked hacking campaign has hit more than 200 American firms across 80 countries. The Defense Department is now probing Microsoft for hiring China-based engineers for U.S. military projects. And two U.S. senators are visiting Taiwan—praising the people for earning their place as an indispensable part of the global economy.