The administration intends to issue a ‘Notice of Proposed Rulemaking’ that would exclude from the de minimis exemption all shipments containing products covered by tariffs imposed under Sections 201 or 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, or Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

It would also ensure that de minimis exemption eligibility for products covered by trade enforcement actions is consistent across US trade laws, a White House factsheet said. Products covered by anti-dumping or countervailing duty orders are already excluded from de minimis exemption eligibility.

The administration called on Congress as well to pass legislation this year to comprehensively reform the de minimis exemption.

A shipment is eligible for the de minimis exemption if the aggregate fair retail value of the articles imported is $800 or less. De minimis shipments enter the United States with less information than other imports and are not subject to duties and taxes.  

The growing volume of de minimis shipments makes it increasingly difficult to target and block illegal or unsafe shipments. Foreign corporate giants who exploit the de minimis exemption do so to either conceal shipments of illegal and dangerous products and avoid compliance with US health and safety and consumer protection laws, or to circumvent US trade enforcement actions intended to level the playing field for American workers, retailers and manufacturers.

The administration intends to strengthen information collection requirements to promote greater visibility into de minimis shipments. This regulation will propose to require specific, additional data for such shipments, including the 10-digit tariff classification number and the person claiming the de minimis exemption, which will improve targeting of such shipments and facilitate expedited clearance of lawful de minimis shipments.

The proposed regulatory changes will also clarify who is eligible for the administrative exemption, and requires filers to identify the person on whose behalf the exemption is being claimed.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) intends to propose a final rule requiring importers of consumer products to file certificates of compliance (CoC) electronically with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and CPSC at the time of entry, including for de minimis shipments.

Section 301 tariffs currently cover approximately 40 per cent of US imports, including 70 per cent of textile and apparel imports from China. Some e-commerce platforms and other foreign sellers circumvent these tariffs by shipping items from China to the United States claiming the de minimis exemption.

The administration is exploring other decisive actions to support US textile and apparel manufacturers and their workers and ways to raise procurement of certain textile and apparel products across agencies, as a way of ensuring that US taxpayer dollars are supporting domestic taxpayer jobs in the textile and apparel sector.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)