CBP Proposes New Rule to Tighten Enforcement of Low-Value Shipments

On January 17, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise the entry process for de minimis shipments valued at under $800 pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1321(a)(2)(C). Specifically, the proposed new rule would (1) exempt imported merchandise subject to trade remedy statutes (such as the Section 301 “China tariffs,” Section 201 “Safeguard tariffs,” and Section 232 “National Security tariffs”) from eligibility for de minimis entry; and (2) require reporting of the full 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classification for certain de minimis shipments. 

Current regulations allow articles to be admitted to the U.S. duty- and tax-free if express couriers’ import consignments on behalf of one person/entity on one day are less than $800 in value. However, merchandise subject to absolute or tariff-rate quota (whether the quota is open or closed) and merchandise subject to antidumping and countervailing duties are currently ineligible for the de minimis administrative exemption, but goods subject to Section 301, 201, and 232 tariffs may claim the exemption.   

Over the past decade, CBP has witnessed a 600% increase in low-value shipments into the U.S. following the increase in 2016 of the maximum value eligible for de minimis from $200 to $800. This exponential increase has challenged the agency’s ability to effectively enforce U.S. trade laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights, and consumer protection rule. In particular, many unscrupulous global traders (especially Chinese-based e-platforms, as cited by CBP in a January 17 press release) have used this special entry process to evade the payment of duty on commercial shipments that would otherwise be subject to formal entry procedures (and corresponding duty and import fee payments) when valued over $2,500. As stated in the NPRM, “[t]ransnational criminal organizations and other bad actors perceive low-value shipments as less likely to be interdicted because these types of shipments are not subject to the more extensive formal entry procedures. This has resulted in attempts to enter illicit goods, such as illicit fentanyl, into the country through these [low-value] shipments.”

CBP also noted the lack of information available to the agency through this low-value shipment exemption that would otherwise be required for formal entry processing. The “overwhelming volume of low-value shipments and lack of actionable data collected pursuant to the current regulations inhibits CBP’s ability to identify and interdict high-risk shipments that may contain illegal drugs such as illicit fentanyl, merchandise that poses a risk to public safety, counterfeit or pirated goods, or other contraband.”

Finally, CBP noted in the NPRM the significant advances in technology that have occurred since 1995 (the date of the last significant update of the low-value shipment rules). What used to be an entirely manual process by the agency has significantly evolved with technological progress in data processing and the successful run of two pilot programs that further cemented the capabilities of CBP’s “Automated Commercial Environment” (ACE) to automatically review low-value shipments with additional data elements and tracking capabilities to target illicit goods.

Proposed Changes

The major changes proposed via the NPRM are as follows:

1.    End the ability of all goods subject to Section 301, 201, and 232 tariffs (whether or not the goods were granted an exclusion from such tariffs) to claim duty-free entry under the de minimis provisions. However, CBP acknowledged operational difficulties in relation to international mail shipments, noting that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) cannot collect duties directly from foreign mailers. To determine whether to exclude international mail shipments from the scope of this proposed rulemaking, CBP is soliciting comments from the public and the USPS. 

2.    Require additional information on de minimis shipments under the current basic entry process and through the creation of a new enhanced entry process intended to encompass merchandise subject to partner government agency (PGA) regulations and/or non-exempt from duties, taxes, and fees. The new entry process would require the electronic transmission of the individual bill of lading or other shipping document used to file or support the entry, as well as additional data elements, including:

• Clearance tracing identification number (CTIN);
• Country of shipment of the merchandise;
• 10-digit HTSUS classification of the merchandise;
• Seller’s and purchaser’s name and address;
• Any data or documents required by PGAs;
• Advertised retail product description; and
• Marketplace name and website or phone number.

3.    Clarify the existing rule that when the aggregate fair retail value of shipments imported by “one person on one day” under the de minimis exemption exceeds $800, all such shipments imported on that day by that person become ineligible for duty- and tax-free entry under the administrative exemption.
 

Comments on this proposal are due no later than March 17. Comments should reference docket number USCBP-2025-0002 and can be submitted at: https://www.regulations.gov