U.S. Faces De Minimis Dilemma as Supply Chains Brace for Impact

There isn’t a whole lot of overlap between the politics of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, but one thing they both have appeared to agree on is that something must be done to curb the flow of cheap, duty-free Chinese imports. While Biden got the ball rolling on those changes in the closing days of his presidency, Trump has opted for a much more aggressive approach that could soon send shockwaves through supply chains across the globe.

Current U.S. de minimis requirements allow any individual or business in the U.S. to receive up to $800 in imports per day without paying tariffs, effectively meaning any shipment valued under $800 can enter the country duty-free, with little scrutiny from customs agents. Chinese retailers such as Temu and Shein have taken full advantage of that loophole by shipping millions of small packages direct to consumers in the U.S. each day, and have seen their businesses grow by billions of dollars in a matter of years as a result.

But on February 3, President Trump revoked the U.S. de minimis rule for all imports from China, before reversing course days later and delaying the move until “adequate systems are in place to fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue.” Although it’s unclear how long that process might take, it still represented a clear shot across the bow, not jus…