Trump ends tariff exemptions for vast majority of small packages

Tariff exemptions for a vast majority of small packages entering the country came to an end Friday at 00H01 local time (04H00 GMT). The repealed rule allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter U.S. territory duty free.

The deadline having expired, Republican President Donald Trump decided by an executive order signed on July 30 that the exemptions will be eliminated with the intention of "ending a catastrophic flaw used, among others, to avoid tariffs and ship synthetic opioids as well as other dangerous products." 

"President Trump's ending of the deadly de minimis loophole will save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous prohibited items, and add up to $10 billion a year in tariff revenues to our Treasury," White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said in comments to reporters picked up by Reuters.

From now on, packages worth more than $100 will be subject to the same tariffs as other imports. Only gifts or personal shipments worth less than $100 will benefit from the exemption.

Because of the measure, numerous domestic shipping services have suspended their shipments to the United States altogether. Many claim that the government's new trade rules are complex to understand or apply.

For example, Mexico's postal service reported that it temporarily suspended postal and parcel shipments to the United States.

"Correos de Mexico will temporarily suspend postal and parcel shipments to the United States as of August 27, 2025, pending the definition of new operational processes," the Mexican Foreign Ministry and Postal Service detailed in a joint statement.