What Is the Meaning of De Minimis Ending on August 29th

On July 30, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that ends the de minimis exception, effective August 29.

In this article, we’ll talk about what de minimis is, its meaning, and its consequences for businesses.

What’s the meaning of de minimis?

De minimis is a tax exception aimed at small parcels unlikely to be of much revenue for the government. In this sense, the imports that are valued under $800, thanks to the de minimis exception, are clear of taxes and tariffs.

It has been calculated that the average value of these imports is $54 and that the majority of them come from China, with up to 60% of all shipments in 2023. We can attribute this to the popularity of e-commerce platforms like Temu.

Why is the de minimis exception ending?

De minimis shipments require little to no administrative procedures; they need only to provide a bill of lading. Because of this, it has been claimed that this exception has been used to ship illicit goods into the United States.

Starting on August 29th, 2025, 00:01 eastern daylight time, the de minimis exception will be eliminated for all countries under the Executive Order 14324. This does not apply to China; the de minimis exception to shipments coming from China was eliminated on May 2nd.

What does this order mean

Without the de minimis exception, every shipment that arrives in the US will be subject to the standard taxes and tariffs according to the tariff rate established in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for the origin country of said shipment.

Now, it is important to note that these tariffs are only applicable to commercial shipments and do not affect personal communications, unless they involve some type of donations or transfer of valuable materials.

Studies have shown that this exception will mainly affect people with low acquisitive power and businesses that consume and benefit from low-value shipments. This, in consequence, would force costly restructuring of supply chains, reduced competition, and consumer choices.

There are also other concerns, like the administrative resources needed to process every shipment arriving in the US and the dangers of an enhanced surveillance system to the smaller business packages. As well as the notion that this measure will not effectively reduce the entrance of illicit substances, for it has been recorded that Customs and Border Protection already seizes thousands of packages with illicit goods coming from de minimis shipments.

Conclusions

The de minimis exception was an important part of trade commerce, whether it was e-commerce or traditional. Now that it’s ending, we need to be aware of every possible outcome that can happen in the economy and to business and consumers alike.