On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) that excludes goods from China (including products of Hong Kong) from entering the United States duty-free under the de minimis exception beginning May 2, 2025. Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930, commonly referred to as the “de minimis” rule refers to the exemption allowing imports valued at $800 or less to enter the United States with minimal filing requirements and duty-free “to avoid [the] expense and inconvenience to the Government disproportionate to the amount of revenue that would otherwise be collected.” This action was previously announced but delayed until such time as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) certified to the Secretary of Commerce that it was ready to handle the increase processing of goods otherwise subject to the Section 321. (See Thompson Hine Updates of February 3, 2025 and February 5, 2025). The EO provides that adequate systems are now in place to process and collect tariff revenue for covered goods from China otherwise eligible for duty-free de minimis treatment. Accordingly, such goods from China sent through means other than the international postal network will now have to be entered “under another appropriate entry type” provided by CBP. Such imports will be subject to all applicable duties, which shall be paid in accordance with applicable entry and payment procedures.
All postal items sent to the United States through the international post that qualify for the de minimis exemption will be subject to submitting duties to CBP in one of two manners:
- An ad valorem duty of 30% of the value of the postal item; or,
- A specific duty “per postal item containing goods” of $25 between May 2 through May 31, 2025, and $50 beginning June 1, 2025.
All carriers that transport international postal items in this manner that contain goods from China or Hong Kong, must have an international carrier bond to ensure payment of the duty.
CBP may also require formal entry for any international postal package. If so required, then the above duty rates would not apply and the imports would be subject to “all applicable duties, taxes, and fees.” Thus, as applicable, previously implemented tariffs under the China IEEPA synthetic opioid tariff EO, various AD/CVD tariffs on China, Section 301 tariffs, or the recent “reciprocal” tariff on China could apply. (See for example, Thompson Hine Updates of April 3, 2025 and March 4, 2025).
The EO stipulates that the Secretary of Commerce is to submit a report to the president within 90 days to relay “the impact of this order” and make any necessary recommendations “for further action.” One recommendation the report must include, is whether the EO should be extended to Macau, since it is also a special administrative region of China, in order to prevent circumvention.