Trump’s Big Threat to Little Shipments

Closing de minimis exemptions will pinch countless importers and especially low-income consumers

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"Mexico and Canada are the second and third largest sources of U.S. imports, and a snap tariff on small shipments will complicate many kinds of commerce. Countless suppliers and dealers will feel the sting of going from no tariff to 25% on small components that they import.

Goods that come in under the exemption skip the normal customs screening, but treating them like other imports will cost Customs and Border Protection (CBP) about $5 per package, according to an Oxford Economics study. That adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars in costs to the government, requiring thousands more customs officers."

"His order on Canadian imports blamed the exemption for helping fentanyl flow into the U.S. Yet federal agents are effective at finding drugs stashed in legal shipments, de minimis or not. CBP reported 24,527 drug seizures from de minimis shipments in 2021."