The Problem of Identifying and Distinguishing China’s Particles with the United States Post-Delta Expansion
There is still a chance of delays and disruptions, even though the USPS is once again accepting packages. The service says that it is working with US Customs and Border Protection to ensure that the tariffs are not disrupted. Neither UPS nor FedEx has announced restrictions on shipments from China, but they are undoubtedly struggling to cope with the new requirements.
The Montana cargo supervisor said everything was from the higher-ups, Daniel says. The drivers told us a lot of trucks were turned away at the border. A lot of officers were checking the trucks to make sure there wasn’t anything that was made in China. It is your last chance. They were actually going through the trucks and randomly checking the packages.”
He adds that identifying and separating packages from China is an arduous process because the goods that his trucks carry usually include thousands of small parcels like DVDs, toys, and video games, all coming from a variety of sources.
Customs and Border Protection stated that over one billion parcels were entered the US using the de minimis exemption in 2024. De minimis is still available in the United States, but Chinese shipments are no longer eligible for it.
US Customs processes about 100,000 entries on a daily basis according to the vice president of customs and trade management at Flexport. Now, agents have to process a few million more packages a day, verifying what’s in them and how much they cost.
Do you work at a tech company? How to get more information before sending an e-commerce product off the market in the U.S.
About 10,000 people work for USAID, roughly two-thirds of whom are stationed overseas, according to the US Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan policy research group that serves Congress (the figure excludes “institutional support” contractors). The agency’s regional and country missions represent less than 1 percent of the total US federal budget.
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While previous administrations have considered removing the de minimis exemption or introducing reforms, Trump is the first to have actually done so. One of the tenets of startup culture is that it is important to move fast and break things according to Ram Ben Tzion, co-founder and CEO of Publican.
The challenge facing USPS and others is managing the task of inspecting the large volume of shipments from China that are suddenly eligible for duty and import taxes, which is almost certain to create delays and problems for packages from other destinations. It’s probable that added costs were caused by the additional burden on inspecting and processing the parcels.
de minimis shipments have posed safety concerns and made it easier for low quality products to reach US buyers. The problem of faulty e-bike batteries in New York City has led to hundreds of fires because some manufacturers use de minimis to skirt safety regulations and avoid product inspection.
China could retaliate to Trump’s tariffs with sanctions on imports and production of rare minerals and levies on fuel, fuel and vehicles
China retaliated to Trump’s tariffs with restrictions on exports of rare minerals, as well as levies on fuel and large vehicles shipped from the US. The country launched antitrust proceedings against two companies, possibly Intel and Apple as well, with probes rumored to be in the works.
The EU should remove its duty-free exemption for packages below 150 and apply a handling fee on e-commerce shipments to compensate for the costs of inspection and processing, as was suggested by the European Commission today.
