U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has proposed new rules that would remove some low-value imports from exemption from duties or other taxes.

The proposal — which was announced days before President Joe Biden left office — would make it so that any products subject to trade or national security restrictions, such as tariffs or antidumping duties, would no longer qualify for so-called de minimis exemptions. The proposed rule change would also require other low-value shipments to include a 10-digit tariff schedule identification number to confirm their eligibility. 

Currently, U.S. de minimis requirements exempt any individual shipment valued under $800 from duties when it passes through customs. According to data from CBP, shipments into the U.S. claiming a de minimis exemption have increased by more than 600% over the last 10 years, rising from 139 million in the 2015 fiscal year, to more than 1.36 billion in 2024. That's largely been driven by Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and Shein, which have taken advantage of de minimis rules to ship millions of smaller packages, duty-free, into the U.S. each day. In total, CBP estimates that roughly 77% of de minimis shipments in 2023 would have been assessed additional duties had they been subject to the restrictions outlined in the new rules.

“We cannot let Chinese-founded e-commerce platforms gain an unfair trade advantage while American businesses play by the rules,” National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said in a January 17 release. “Today’s actions are an important step forward to level the playing field for American workers, retailers, and manufacturers, and to enforce U.S. laws that protect the health and safety of our consumers.”

On January 13, CBP also proposed changes to the data it collects on de minimis shipments as part of a new "enhanced entry process," which would require packages to include their country of origin, a tracing identification number that references the original bill of lading, and at least one other data element to verify their contents. Both proposals are moving through a 60-day public comment period before they can be reviewed, finalized and implemented by the Trump administration.