Biden-Harris Administration Releases Strategy to Address De Minimis Shipments and Fentanyl Concerns

The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced new efforts aimed at addressing the growing concerns surrounding de minimis shipments, goods valued under $800 that enter the U.S. without paying customs duties or undergoing detailed inspections. According to the Administration, these shipments have increasingly been used to bring unsafe and unfairly traded products into the country, particularly from China. In response, they have introduced a series of rulemaking and enforcement measures designed to close loopholes, improve data collection, and prevent these shipments from bypassing critical U.S. health, safety, and trade regulations. The Administration is also calling on Congress to pass comprehensive reform legislation to further strengthen these efforts.

One of the key areas of focus for the Administration is closing the loopholes that allow unscrupulous suppliers to flood the U.S. market with unsafe products. Many de minimis shipments, particularly from e-commerce platforms, have been found to include counterfeit goods, unsafe products, and even illegal drugs such as fentanyl and its precursors.

In the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s latest efforts to combat this issue, new executive actions have been introduced to modernize the de minimis exemption. These rules aim to increase data collection on de minimis shipments, which will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to more effectively track, target, and seize non-compliant goods.

The ultimate goal is to prevent these products from circumventing U.S. laws that protect consumers and businesses, and to bring more accountability to e-commerce platforms that have been used as entry points for these dangerous shipments.

For more information on the Administration’s efforts and the proposed reforms, consult the Biden-Harris Administration's Fact Sheet on De Minimis Action and the DHS Announcement on Workforce and Executive Actions.

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