History of the De Minimus Rule

History of the De Minimis Rule

The de minimis rule in US customs law was created in 1938 to reduce the administrative burden on customs officials by exempting low-value shipments from duties and full inspection. Over the decades, the rule's threshold was periodically increased before a major expansion in 2016 to encourage international trade. This was eventually followed by the recent elimination of the rule due to concerns about its abuse. 

1930 (Tariff Act of 1930): The legal basis for the de minimis rule was established in Section 321 of this act.

1938: Congress created the actual de minimis rule, initially setting the threshold at $1 or less to save time and expense on processing very low-value goods.

1994: The threshold was raised to $200 under the Customs Modernization Act.

2016: President Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, which raised the de minimis threshold to $800.

2025: Recent legislative changes are eliminating the de minimis exemption for many shipments, with an effective date of July 1, 2027, for commercial shipments.

Then in 2025, Donald Trump signed two executive orders to end the de minimis rule for imported goods. The first order, signed in April 2025, ended the exemption for shipments from China and Hong Kong, which went into effect on May 2, 2025. The second executive order, signed on July 30, 2025, expanded the rule to include all countries:

April 2, 2025: An executive order ended the de minimis exemption for shipments originating from China and Hong Kong. The change was effective beginning May 2, 2025.

July 30, 2025: A second executive order, officially titled "Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries," extended the suspension of the rule globally. This order took effect on August 29, 2025.