A few days after President Trump ended tax-free entry into the US for cheap Chinese products, his administration puts on hold after more than a million packages were stacked at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. did.
It was the result of a rushed and confused policy change that proved unfeasible in a short period of time. Government officials are currently in a hurry to implement orders in a way that doesn't disrupt America's ultra-efficient import system.
Trump's executive order targeted a lesser-known trade rule called “de Minimis.”
Items with a total value of less than $800 are permitted to enter the country tax-free and can be subject to minimal testing.
The number of cargo entering the US through this tax-free channel has exploded in recent years, reaching around 1.4 billion packages last year, primarily for online shopping.
Currently, over 90% of all packages entering the US are entered through De Minimis.
Of these, about 60% come from China, led by direct consumer retailers such as Temu and Shein.
Trump has campaigned on a promise to punish China for the role he played in the synthetic opioid crisis that killed more than 450,000 Americans in the past decade.
Chinese chemical manufacturers are the leading suppliers of raw materials purchased by Mexican cartels and produce deadly drugs, US anti-drug officials say.
Last year's Reuters survey details how traffickers frequently route these chemicals to the US By utilizing the de minimis rules.
China has repeatedly denied negligence.
In the executive order on February 1, Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports and ended the DE Minimis exemption for China's low-value package, which he had previously admitted with tax exemptions.
The White House gave the policy just three days to take effect. On February 7th, some of Trump's orders affecting minimal compartments were suspended as those responsible for carrying out the order were not given enough time to prepare.
The packages were stacked at the entrance port, including JFK Airport.
Logistics experts say it is impossible for major parcel airlines, e-commerce platforms, US Postal Service and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to overhaul their operations in a matter of days. Already minimal packages on the way from China.
“We've been working hard to get into the business,” said John Leonard, a former CBP official who retired from the agency in 2024.
Leonard said that major changes of these types have traditionally taken months to implement, including close cooperation between CBP and the private sector.
The minimal rules in the United States, dating back to 1938, have been the target of growing criticism from both Democrats and Republican lawmakers.
Some people have ridden cheap Chinese products as a loophole that allows them to flood the US and undercut American industries, while also function as a cover for smuggling contraband such as illegal drugs and their predecessor chemicals. I'm doing it.
Reuters Series Last year, it penetrated the supply chain of fentanyl-manufactured chemicals and demonstrated how human traffickers can use it A huge amount of De Minimis packages To sneak the precursors into the country.
Despite increasing consensus on the need to reduce the number of packages coming through De Minimis, vast amounts must be fully considered and implemented in time frames that allow time to coordinate CBP with shippers. It means there is. -A Dosing Dosine Private Logistics expert, former customs official and politician told Reuters.
The need to pay missions to millions of low value packages that come from China every day also risks slowing down the transport system built to move parcels quickly, which is to store large amounts of goods for a long time Not equipped.
American shoppers have become accustomed to the almost seamless delivery of online orders of affordable clothing and gadgets from China.
US representative Rosa Delauro, a Connecticut Democrat, supports ending a completely minimal exemption not only for China, but for all countries.
But she said Trump's surprise orders caught the shipping industry off guard. The federal government traditionally gave months to seek and prepare opinions from affected parties.
“We need to have some kind of infrastructure in place,” Delauro said. “You don't start saying, 'I'm going to change the world.' And don't understand that you're going to do it. ”
She also criticized Trump's order for too much geographical constraint.
She said that companies currently manufacturing in China can move their businesses to places like Vietnam or Thailand and export them from there in an effort to skirt the ban on Chinese goods.
Trump is currently in charge of figuring out how to make his policies work.
A particular issue is the government-owned US Postal Service (USPS).
USPS accounts for only about 5% of the total shipments last year, but with around 75 million parcels, experts describe it as Achilles heels of any policy to remove low-value shipping tariff exemptions I did.
The USPS is not set up to assess and handle the duties of sweaters, shoes and headphone packaging coming from overseas, as history has arisen around receiving and sending letters.
Fast carriers such as FedEx, UPS, DHL have an in-house customs securities department that collects the duties owed by the recipient of the package, and these companies can handle every step from drop-off to the front door. It's often the case.
In contrast, USPS receives goods from foreign postal services that are transported to a small number of international postal facilities at major US airports.
These packages often arrive with limited information about the content. Furthermore, USPS is not set up to handle customs duties.
“The post office has no way of collecting obligations or obligations to pay to the government,” said Cindy Allen, CEO of Merchant Mardia, an international trade consultancy and former CBP representative.
Following Trump's order, the USPS on February 4th temporarily suspended accepting incoming packages from China and Hong Kong as they worked to figure out how duties would be collected.
After about 12 hours, the course was reversed.
In an official statement, the post office said it will work with the CBP to “implement an efficient collection mechanism for new Chinese tariffs to ensure minimal disruption in package delivery.”
Experts said USPS likely needs to partner with customs brokers to begin processing duties for millions of incoming packages.
Another option is to exempt USPS from the new rules.
However, it can drive a surge in low value goods to international mail. CBP is struggling To comply with laws aimed at effectively screening Pulcels and halting fentanyl trafficking.
USPS did not reply to requests for comment.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Office, the agency's law enforcement unit, told Reuters last year that he was working tirelessly with U.S. customs and other partners, “fighting illegal drugs that take part in the mail.”
DHL, UPS and FedEx said they have the ability to comply with all regulations and adapt to changes as needed. CBP did not respond to requests for comment.
CBP also said more people need to inspect incoming packages.
Given the Trump administration's focus on downsizing federal workers, it's unclear where these extra staff will come from.
The Trump administration intends to revive the de Minimis ban “in a short order,” administration officials told Reuters.
Whenever that's the case, it could be another rocky rollout, said Lars Eric Hoelm, a lawyer specializing in international trade law who worked for US customs.
Global transport routes can frequently pass goods that frequently pass through various countries before entering the US.
Hjelm said it would present a challenge as it would be more difficult to establish the Chinese origin of the goods.
“No matter what, it's going to be chaotic,” he said.
