This piece originally appeared in the National Interest.
The recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill includes a provision that will reshape American trade and will require government agencies to conduct forced labor screening on significantly more imports as they enter regular customs processing. 2027 will see the end of the de minimis exemption for imported goods, which currently allows $800 allows imported goods valued under $800 per person per day to be imported into the United States without import duties. It will be a big win for human rights as millions of packages will finally be fully subject to anti-forced labor laws. However, the end of de minimis will require US authorities to modernize current capabilities to enforce the law so they are not overwhelmed in analyzing packages.
The original intent of the exemption was to save the government time by not having to collect duties on low-value goods. It instead became a loophole that allows firms to export billions of dollars in goods to the United States without paying proper import duties, and also to evade US laws aimed at opposing forced labor.
De Minimis Loopholes Have Enabled Goods To Escape Enforcement
Chinese companies, particularly e-commerce companies, such as Temu and Shein, have taken full advantage of the exemption. In 2024, Chinese companies exported $240 billion in goods through this loophole; the China Select Committee found that Temu and Shein alone imported millions of packages to the United States. Temu and Shein claimed their users were the importers, which let them export billions of goods without paying any import duties.
