Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China as Applied to Low-Value Imports
The order eliminates duty-free treatment for low-value packages — valued at $800 or less — shipped from China and Hong Kong, effective May 2, 2025. It sets new postal duty rates at either 30 percent of a package's value or a flat $25–$50 per item, whichever the carrier selects.
It closes the 'de minimis' customs exemption that Chinese shippers had used to send hundreds of millions of packages to the United States without paying tariffs, directly raising the cost of goods bought by American consumers from Chinese online retailers.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs that packages valued at $800 or less from China and Hong Kong may no longer enter the United States duty-free under the de minimis exemption, starting May 2, 2025. For non-postal shipments, importers must file formal customs entries via CBP's Automated Commercial Environment and pay all applicable duties. For international postal packages, it establishes two duty options carriers must choose between: a 30 percent ad valorem rate, or a flat fee of $25 per package (May 2–June 1, 2025) rising to $50 per package (June 1, 2025 onward). Carriers must hold international carrier bonds and report shipment data to CBP.
The order grants CBP broad implementing authority, including the power to require formal entry for any postal package and to issue regulations as needed. It also directs the Secretary of Commerce to submit a report within 90 days on impacts to American industries, consumers, and supply chains, including a recommendation on whether to extend de minimis ineligibility to packages from Macau.
Who it affects
American consumers buying low-value goods from Chinese e-commerce retailers, transportation carriers delivering international postal packages from China and Hong Kong, importers and businesses that relied on the de minimis exemption, and CBP, which now must collect duties on a massive new category of shipments.
Why it matters
Low-value packages from Chinese sellers that previously entered the U.S. duty-free will now carry duties of 30 percent of their value or $25–$50 per package. American consumers ordering from Chinese online retailers will likely pay higher prices, and carriers face new bonding, reporting, and duty-collection requirements starting May 2.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The change is triggered by the Commerce Secretary's certification that CBP systems can now collect tariffs on formerly exempt packages. Non-postal shippers must file ACE entries with full duties. Postal carriers choose monthly between the 30% ad valorem rate and the flat per-item fee, but must apply the same method to all shipments in a given period. Carriers must hold carrier bonds and report shipment totals to CBP per conveyance. Within 90 days, Commerce submits a presidential impact report with recommendations, including on whether to extend the ineligibility to Macau to prevent circumvention.
Actions and deadlines
- Terminate duty-free de minimis treatment for covered PRC and Hong Kong goods under $800; begin formal entry and duty collection
- Begin collecting postal duties at 30% ad valorem or $25 flat per postal item from China and Hong Kong
- Increase flat postal duty rate from $25 to $50 per postal item containing goods
- Secretary of Commerce submit impact report to the President on American industries, consumers, and supply chains, with recommendations including on Macau circumvention
- United States International Trade Commission modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to reflect order requirements
- Carriers transporting international postal packages from PRC or Hong Kong must obtain and maintain international carrier bonds