How US Shoppers Will Be Hit As The Tariff Exemption Ends

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The US has pulled the plug on a long-running global tariff exemption that has been widely used by buyers of low-cost goods.

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.

Last year, almost 1.4 billion packages - worth a total of more than $64bn - entered America without being charged duties under a rule called the de minimis exemption, according to US Customs.

⁘I've reached the point of acceptance, but when I first heard the news about two and half, three weeks ago, I felt like it might be the end for my business,⁘ said Katherine Theobalds, founder and creative director of Buenos Aires-based shoe brand Zou Xou. ⁘It still might - that remains to be seen.⁘

De minimis is a Latin term that broadly translates to ⁘about the smallest things⁘, often used in legal contexts to describe matters too trivial to merit concern.

The de minimis exemption was introduced in 1938 to avoid the expense of collecting only small amounts of import duties in the US.

The rule's threshold rose over the years, allowing e-commerce firms and global retailers that ship small packages to the US to thrive.

The exemption was often associated with companies like Chinese e-commerce giants Shein and Temu, which delivered Americans cheap goods that could be quickly shipped from the manufacturing source - with no warehouse stock or associated overhead costs.