Tell Congress: Close the Loophole that Allows Companies to Dodge U.S. Trade Enforcement
Brands like SHEIN and Temu stand accused of a host of bad practices, like using of forced labor in China, causing damage to the environment, stealing designs, and even selling clothing containing lead.
Nevertheless, these brands are now dominating retail — and current U.S. trade law is effectively underwriting their rise.
The "de minimis" trade loophole allows any imported package valued under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free. Because these brands ship sales directly to customers, they are able to exploit the de minimis law, dodging both tariffs and U.S. Customs efforts to inspect goods suspected of being made with forced labor.
It's not just SHEIN and Temu, either. Big corporations like Amazon also stand accused of using de minimis to avoid paying tariffs.
Not only is that unfair to companies who pay their fair share, it also means that our own trade policy is undermining American manufacturers and workers. Enough is enough!
New bipartisan legislation called the Import Security and Fairness Act aims to close the de minimis loophole.
Take Action: Tell your Members of Congress to support the Import Security and Fairness Act!
Nevertheless, these brands are now dominating retail — and current U.S. trade law is effectively underwriting their rise.
The "de minimis" trade loophole allows any imported package valued under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free. Because these brands ship sales directly to customers, they are able to exploit the de minimis law, dodging both tariffs and U.S. Customs efforts to inspect goods suspected of being made with forced labor.
It's not just SHEIN and Temu, either. Big corporations like Amazon also stand accused of using de minimis to avoid paying tariffs.
Not only is that unfair to companies who pay their fair share, it also means that our own trade policy is undermining American manufacturers and workers. Enough is enough!
New bipartisan legislation called the Import Security and Fairness Act aims to close the de minimis loophole.
Take Action: Tell your Members of Congress to support the Import Security and Fairness Act!
I write to urge that you cosponsor the Import Security and Fairness Act (S. 2004 / H.R. 4148), which cracks down on massive loopholes in U.S. de minimis policy that are being exploited by Chinese and other companies to avoid trade enforcement and other duties, taxes, and fees.
Currently, packages entering the United States that are valued under the de minimis threshold are effectively permitted to bypass applicable U.S. trade enforcement and other duties that would otherwise be assessed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Set at $800, the U.S. de minimis threshold is the highest in the world and far exceeds our major trading partners. This disparity is unfair to U.S. companies and their workers, and the high threshold invites fraud, evasion, and further deterioration of our industrial base.
The scale of our flawed policy is far-reaching with over two million packages entering our market each day through the de minimis loophole and de minimis imports originating from China accounting for nearly $200 billion per year. At the center of this avoidance scheme are China's e-commerce companies – including SHEIN and Temu – who are stealing market share from U.S. companies and American workers by sending small "direct-to-consumer" packages to bypass U.S. Customs enforcement, inspections, and other laws. Worse yet, they are also able to avoid critical inspections that protect consumers from counterfeits, dangerous products, and goods produced with forced labor.
The bipartisan Import Security and Fairness Act (S. 2004 / H.R. 4148) was introduced in the Senate by Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and in the House by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Neal Dunn (R-FL). This bill takes aim at the worst offenders, while also addressing loopholes used by bad actors to avoid paying taxes, duties and fees. Critically, packages from China and other non-market economies (NMEs) would no longer benefit from de minimis treatment.
Trade cheating is hurting American manufacturing and Congress needs to act. Please support American manufacturing and its workers by cosponsoring the Import Security and Fairness Act (S. 2004 / H.R. 4148).
Sign PetitionSign PetitionCurrently, packages entering the United States that are valued under the de minimis threshold are effectively permitted to bypass applicable U.S. trade enforcement and other duties that would otherwise be assessed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Set at $800, the U.S. de minimis threshold is the highest in the world and far exceeds our major trading partners. This disparity is unfair to U.S. companies and their workers, and the high threshold invites fraud, evasion, and further deterioration of our industrial base.
The scale of our flawed policy is far-reaching with over two million packages entering our market each day through the de minimis loophole and de minimis imports originating from China accounting for nearly $200 billion per year. At the center of this avoidance scheme are China's e-commerce companies – including SHEIN and Temu – who are stealing market share from U.S. companies and American workers by sending small "direct-to-consumer" packages to bypass U.S. Customs enforcement, inspections, and other laws. Worse yet, they are also able to avoid critical inspections that protect consumers from counterfeits, dangerous products, and goods produced with forced labor.
The bipartisan Import Security and Fairness Act (S. 2004 / H.R. 4148) was introduced in the Senate by Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and in the House by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Neal Dunn (R-FL). This bill takes aim at the worst offenders, while also addressing loopholes used by bad actors to avoid paying taxes, duties and fees. Critically, packages from China and other non-market economies (NMEs) would no longer benefit from de minimis treatment.
Trade cheating is hurting American manufacturing and Congress needs to act. Please support American manufacturing and its workers by cosponsoring the Import Security and Fairness Act (S. 2004 / H.R. 4148).
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