Trump Flipflop Will Gut His New 10% China Tariff, Reverse Anti-Fentanyl Action

Washington, D.C. — Rethink Trade today condemned President Trump’s reopening of a major trade enforcement loophole that will allow millions of import shipments arriving daily from China to evade inspection and Trump’s new 10% China tariffs as well as the 20% tariffs he imposed in 2018 on two-thirds of all Chinese imports.

Lori Wallach, Director of Rethink Trade, said:

“Trump’s trade flipflop allows millions of packages from China to again enter the U.S. everyday dodging inspection and all tariffs, betraying his promises to rebuild American manufacturing by tariffing unfair trade and to keep out the fentanyl coming through this de minimis trade loophole.”

“Apparently, Trump sided with his billionaire buddy running FedEx who came to the White House to complain about Trump’s decision to shut down the de minimis loophole that allows packages FedEx delivers here from China to evade tariffs and inspection and betrayed American families losing loved ones to fentanyl slipping in this way while also gutting his new China tariffs by providing China a way to evade all tariffs.”

“There is only way one out of this China tariff de minimis policy and political debacle, which is the Trump administration must issue a separate executive order that both closes the de minimis duty-free loophole for all countries and that also restores Formal Entry for all commercial imports.”

After meeting in the White House with the CEO of FedEx, an express shipper opposed to tighter Customs rules on China trade, the Trump administration altogether suspended the provision of its Feb. 1 China tariff executive order closing the de minimis loophole. Stakeholders had asked the Trump administration to clarify a Wednesday Federal Register Notice implementing the Feb. 1 China tariff Executive Order to ensure that packages from China coming to the United States via any convenience system, including express delivery and air cargo, not only international mail, would be subject to the Customs Formal Entry processes necessary to enforce the new tariffs and reduce the flood of uninspected package under which shipments of fentanyl-laced pills and other deadly goods are buried. Trump announced the reopening of duty-free imports from China will continue until Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik, who has no jurisdiction over Customs, tariff collections or package inspection, decides the trade loophole should again be suspended with respect to China.

Background: De minimis is the trade loophole that Shein, Temu, Amazon, and other e-commerce giants exploit to evade tariffs, taxes, normal customs requirements and inspection when they ship directly from China to US consumers. For decades, the policy was mainly used by people returning from overseas to bring in souvenirs without formal customs paperwork or paying tariffs. But an unfortunate 1995 customs regulation and the rise of online shopping and direct-to-consumer delivery empowered ecommerce giants to exploit de minimis. Last year, four million commercial shipments entered the US daily, mainly from China, through the loophole. The total number of de minimis shipments was more than one billion in 2024, up from 139 million in 2015.  Groups representing law-enforcement and families who lost loved ones to fentanyl have asked Trump to end de minimis with respect to all countries and to require Formal Entry for low-value commercial imports, so that such goods are once agains imported through containerized shipping with full Customs forms and the professional oversight of a Customs Broker, so goods are properly documented and inspected. The Trump has ample authority to do so right now.

Learn more about Rethink Trade here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.