Love low-cost stuff from China? The gettin’ just got complicated
U.S. Customs and Border Protection technician Czar Zeman examines overseas parcels after they were scanned at the agency's overseas mail inspection facility at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Feb. 23, 2024. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP file)
For nearly 90 years, the federal government has not collected duties and tariffs on low-value packages coming into the U.S., saying the cost of the labor and delays was not worth the effort.
That ended a minute after midnight Friday, May 2, a move by the Trump administration that terminates the “de minimus” exemption on goods coming from China.
The term refers to a loophole in the Tariff Act of 1930 that originally allowed imports under $1 to enter the country free of tariffs, fees and taxes.
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Jane Roberts
Jane Roberts has reported in Memphis for more than 20 years. As a senior member of The Daily Memphian staff, she was assigned to the medical beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has done in-depth work on other medical issues facing our community, including shortages of specialists in local hospitals. She covered K-12 education here for years and later the region’s transportation sector, including Memphis International Airport and FedEx Corp.
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