De Minimis Duty Exemption Suspended Globally, Raising Costs on Low-Value Imports
EO 14388 continues the suspension of the duty-free de minimis exemption under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) for all countries and all shipment modes, directing CBP to collect duties on every low-value international shipment regardless of origin, value, or transport method, invoking IEEPA national emergency authority.
President Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and a cascade of prior EOs declaring national emergencies to continue the suspension of the de minimis exemption—the longstanding rule under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) that allowed imports valued under $800 to enter duty-free. EO 14388 revises EO 14324 to make the suspension apply to 'any shipment of articles…regardless of value, country of origin, mode of transportation, or method of entry,' effectively ending a provision that had benefited hundreds of millions of small consumer purchases annually from platforms like Shein, Temu, and Amazon Marketplace.
The stated rationale chains together four earlier IEEPA emergency orders—covering the northern border (EO 14193), southern border (EO 14194), Chinese synthetic opioids (EO 14195), and reciprocal tariffs (EO 14257)—to justify what is in practice a sweeping structural trade policy change rather than a targeted emergency response. The Secretary of Commerce's certification that 'adequate systems are in place to collect duties' was the technical trigger; EO 14388 now instructs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect duties on all qualifying international postal shipments going forward.
The immediate harm falls on low- and middle-income U.S. consumers who relied on duty-free small-parcel imports for affordable goods—clothing, electronics, and household items—as prices will rise or products disappear from the market. Small U.S.-based importers and independent sellers sourcing goods internationally are also exposed to new compliance costs. Domestic retailers and manufacturers may benefit competitively, but the mechanism bypasses Congress and the normal notice-and-comment trade rulemaking process.
A progressive reversal path would involve Congress reasserting authority over de minimis thresholds through targeted legislation or IEEPA reform limiting emergency trade powers to genuine time-limited crises. Alternatively, a future administration could lift the IEEPA emergency declarations underlying this order, triggering restoration of the exemption, while pursuing legislatively grounded reforms that address counterfeit goods and customs fraud without a blanket consumer tax.
Original source — excerpted
executive order EO 14388: Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries"[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)] [Presidential Documents] [Pages 17839-17844] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: R1-2026-03829] Presidential Documents Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 68 / Thursday, April 9, 2026 / Presidential Documents ___________________________________________________________________ Title 3-- The President [[Page 17839]] Executive Order 14388 of February 20, 2026 Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries Republication [Editorial Note: Executive Order 14388 was originally published on pages 9433 through 9436 in the issue of Wednesday, February 25, 2026. In that publication, the document did not include the accompanying annex. The corrected document is republished in its entirety with the accompanying annex.] By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 604 of the Trade Act of 197…"