US prez urged to close de minimis loophole using executive authority

The letter urged the administration to update the de minimis policy, which undercuts American workers, manufacturers and retailers and threatens the health and safety of US citizens.

“De minimis imports, particularly from China, also evade most existing trade enforcement mechanisms, including the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act and Section 301 tariffs used to hold trade cheats accountable,” the letter said.

Over the past several months, 18 US textile plants closed due to the flood of imports coming in via the de minimis loophole and putting hundreds of American workers out of jobs, it noted.

“A blanket waiver of tariffs, trade-cheating penalties, taxes, and inspection is not an appropriate approach for the small-value packages ordered online that enter the United States, amounting to more than one billion in 2023 alone,” it said.

“Disqualifying commercial shipments from de minimis treatment would significantly reduce the volume of small package imports. Instead of millions of individual packages arriving daily in express air delivery centers and via international mail, legitimate goods ordered online would arrive at formal ports aggregated in shipping containers with detailed information about the goods submitted in advance online as required by the SAFE Port Act,” it said.

“This would make it possible for Customs and other regulatory agencies enforcing product safety, labor rights, drug interdiction, and other policies to target shipments that need inspection and seize violating imports,” the letter added.

“De minimis has been crippling to our manufacturing sector and its workforce and is rewarding forced labor, duty-free trade to our doors. Over 4 million de minimis packages are now entering the United States every day with virtually no scrutiny or inspection–half are estimated to be textile and apparel products," National Council of Textile Organisations president and chief executive officer Kim Glas said.

"We are proud to join this broad coalition to urge the President and the Administration to use their executive authorities to the fullest extent to close this dangerous loophole immediately,”  Glas added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)