LM reader survey examines the impact of the removal of the de minimis exemption

When the de minimis exemption, which allowed shipments under $800 sent to the United States to not be subject to tariffs and allowed for low-value items to be excluded, from taxes, duties, and other regulations, was officially removed by the White House on August 29, as per an edict delivered in a late-July White House executive order, it raised various questions in regards to the subsequent impact of its removal.

In the executive order, the White House said that between 2015-2024, the volume of de minimis shipments into the U.S. rose from 134 million shipments to more than 1.36 billion shipments, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing more than 4 million de minimis shipments into the U.S. on a daily basis. And it added that volume from de minimis shipments that are also from countries that historically have not abused the de minimis exemption has seen significant increases, at 309 million in fiscal year 2025, through June 30, whereas they came in at 115 million in fiscal year 2024—which the White House said resulted in significant lost revenue for the U.S.

The executive order added that commercial low-value shipments, regardless of origin, value, or entry method, are now subject to applicable duties and required to go through formal customs entry.

For non-postal shipments moving through an integrator like UPS, FedEx, or DHL, they now will go through Customs via the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and also may require entry filings and bonds. And for shipments moving through international postal services, a duty will be placed on packages based on the tariff rate of the shipment’s country of origin, with a flat fee of $80, $160, or $200 per package contingent on the country’s IEEPA tariff rate.

While the removal of the de minimis exemption has garnered a fair amount of attention, the findings of a recently-conducted Logistics Management reader survey of 100 freight transportation, logistics, and supply chain stakeholders, presented what could be viewed as a mixed impact on operations since the exit of de minimis.

Nearly one-third, or 32%, of the survey’s respondents said that it has impacted operations, with 46% saying it has not, and 22% stating that they are unsure.

Reasons cited by respondents indicating that their operations have been impacted by the removal of the de minimis exemption included things like increased costs, slower deliveries, lack of availability for certain products, and the need to raise prices, among others.

“We've seen increased customs processing times and added duties on low-value engineering samples that were previously exempt,” said a survey respondent. “While our logistics team is equipped to handle complex workflows, these changes have introduced new cost layers and slowed down prototype turnaround, especially for international shipments tied to R&D cycles.”

When asked what percentage of inbound shipments qualified under the de minimis exemption, the findings varied, with 39% of respondents putting it at 0%-10% and 14% of respondents putting it at 11%-to-20%. A collective 10% said it indicated between 21%-to-40% of inbound shipments.

Addressing the level of impact the removal of de minimis has on delivery times, 7% of respondents said it has a large impact, and 24% said it has some impact. And 47% noted it has had little to no impact in delaying delivery times, with another 22% saying they were unsure.

Looking at how the removal of de minimis impacts product pricing and shipping policies, the survey’s findings were consistent, with 36% saying it does impact product pricing and 64% saying it does not. For shipping policies, 38% stated their policies are impacted and 62% saying there has not been an impact.

“The removal of the de minimis exemption has added new cost layers to our low-value international shipments,” said a respondent. “We've had to adjust product pricing to account for duties that didn’t apply before. On the logistics side, we're reevaluating shipping policies, consolidating shipments where possible and revisiting carrier strategies to stay compliant and cost-effective. It's added complexity we didn't anticipate, but we're adapting.”

Vincent Iacopella, President of Trade and Government Relations at Alba Wheels Up International, a provider of international freight forwarding, customs brokerage and warehousing and distribution services, called the removal of the de minimis exemption a seismic shift, with two sides, with many logistics operators now going from a less complex model to a more complex model.

“Before, if an item was under $800, it was duty-free,” he said. “There was less data involved in a transaction, and it was built around speed to market. It is a seismic shift, because it will take [increased] resources for those that were using de minimis to now go into a duty-paid environment with more data and gravitating toward a trade-sensitive broker who is compliant. I see a lot of scrambling in the market now, and I see folks who were in the de minimis environment migrating over to the duty-paid environment.

And our advice there is, you should find brokers that are familiar with that duty-paid model. It's early, but it seems to me, at this point, that precisely the folks that maybe got beat up a little bit in this space are the ones that I see investing in the compliance because they have the resources to gather the data, manage the data, find the right partners, and pay the duties. I think it's going to favor larger marketplaces and companies that actually have the capital and resources to make the shift.”