Air, Business, Express, Forwarding, Freight News, Logistics


Ending de minimuis is bad for global business, says e-commerce expert

[ March 27, 2025   //   ]

Ending of US de minimis exemptions for imports from China could cause far greater disruption than any tariff hikes imposed by the Trump administration, says David Taylor, director of operations at e-commerce specialist, Mark 3 International.

De minimis thresholds are set by each country and imported goods below those values do not attract tax or duties. It is a scheme that works very well to support global ecommerce, which typically consists of huge numbers of small, relatively low value, packages.

In the US, de minimis is set at $800. The new administration says its abolition will disrupt the flow of opioids into the US from China.

A report from Reuters notes that the number of de minimis packages entering the US approached 1.4 billion in 2024, largely due to online shopping. It adds, “More than 90% of all packages coming into the U.S. now enter via de minimis. Of those, about 60% come from China, led by direct-to-consumer retailers such as Temu and Shein.”

David Taylor commented: “Tariff wars are bad for trade, but removing de minimis exemptions could cripple ecommerce shipments across the world. Our trade with the US is vital to our economy, and ecommerce shipments into the US are huge and growing.

“If those shipments were subject to tax it would cause serious problems for UK exporters, ultimately raising prices and creating delays.”

The UK is the third largest ecommerce market in the world, after China and the US, according to US government’s International Trade Administration.

Taylor added: “There are opportunities for businesses to structure shipments such that they fall within the destination country’s threshold. This can streamline logistics and improve delivery times, critical considerations for the global ecommerce trader.

“To cope with rules changing for one country, an ecommerce producer there could simply switch production to a country that isn’t affected.

 “De minimis rules help to smooth the flow of small value shipments, the volume of which would soon overrun customs operations, and the major parcel carriers, if they had to process taxes and duties on every package.”

In the EU de minimis is set at €150 Euro, and in the UK it is £135.

Tags: