By Andrew Miller
For nearly a decade, small packages worth $800 or less could enter the United States without a tariff or customs paperwork.
The exemption was called de minimis. It allowed small importers to buy inventory in batches from overseas to keep costs low.
That ended in stages through 2025.
First an executive order ended de minimis for China and Hong Kong, effective May 2, 2025. A second order followed months later, ending the exemption for every remaining country by August.
One importer fought it. A family-run auto-parts distributor called Detroit Axle sued the government on May 16, 2025, two weeks after the China cutoff. The company argued the president had no authority to end the exemption.
Other business owners simply held out for its return.
The Supreme Court had struck down a separate set of tariffs earlier in the year. Maybe the courts would unwind this one too.
Last month ended that hope.
On August 13 the Court of International Trade ruled against Detroit Axle. The court stated that ending an existing exemption is not the same as imposing a new tariff.
The importer can still appeal. But there’s not much use in doing so.
The end of de minimis is inevitable. Congress settled that by law.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, terminates de minimis outright on July 1, 2027. That date holds no matter how any appeal turns out. Not to mention an appeal would likely take up most of the time before the bill takes effect.
That means low-value imports will continue to be treated like any other import. Now and in the future.
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