This 20 USD dress directly from China now costs $ 30 after closing the tariff gap – and the US will soon end the “de minimis” release also for the rest of the world

Swift fashion got much more expensive for Americans This spring – and will probably become even more pricey in 2027.

This is because the Trump administration was retreating with the little-known feature of the American customs law, which for years allowed retailers to send free from service to American buyers-as long as each shipment was valued below USD 800. Known as “Minis exception “This principle has helped maintain low prices on Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as shein and this, increasing their popularity with American clients.

But from May 2, 2025, this advantage has disappeared – at least For China and Hong Kong. Then the United States officially eliminated the exemption from affordable imports from these places. Suddenly affordable fashion was not so affordable – and The demand for Shein and it has fallen.

But although the hunters of the occasion can hope to work around, ordering platforms based in Vietnam or elsewhere, this is a short-lived amendment. The release is to be eliminated for all countries In 2027, thanks to the language in the tax and expenditure account just signed.

But keep – “de minimis” at all?

Budget-friendly dresses and “tiny matters”

I am Market Marketing who is I was interested in this gap for a long time. De minimis is the abbreviation The least care Which means “the law does not apply to tiny matters.” In commercial categories, de minimis release refers to the threshold of values ​​below, which imports can enter the country without duties. Imagine that the government says: “It’s so affordable that we don’t even bother.”

De minimis dismissal was introduced as part Tariff Act from 1930. and initially set at $ 200. It remained at this level until 2016when the US hit him to USD 800. Increasing the limit helped tiny companies, as well as individual buyers, and from 2016 to 2023 adapted by miniis increased rapidly – growing six times up to over 1 billion a year.

But it left huge companies that import wholesale positions in an adverse situation. This is one of the reasons why a historically the same dress can cost more money in an American retail store than if you bought it online from the e-commerce company.

Case study: Your dress worth USD 20

Imagine that it is January 2025. You scroll Shein and see a fashionable dress for $ 20. You order a dress to deliver home. The seller packs the dress and exports it to the home address. The package arrives at the US border. Because the “value” of the package – in particular the price paid – is below the “de minimis” threshold in the US in the amount of USD 800, American customs and border protection releases the importer – that is – from paying any import duty. You pay only USD 20.

Now imagine that you are trying to order the same dress in mid -July.

Executive ordinance 14256published in April 2states that such an item, if it is sent via international mail from China or Hong Kong, may be subject to Ad Valor duty up to 20% of the value of the item or a certain amount of dollar per package, which can be 100 USD or more. This was increased to 30% on April 8 AND 84% the next day. In the latest modification, dated May 12The percentage has been changed to 54%.

So, using 54% Ad Valor as an example, an import tariff for a dress for 20 USD would be USD 10.80 – in total, costing USD 30.80. Of course, the modification of May 12 is equipped with an ordinary waiver: will remain in power “unless and until it modifies differently through the next executive. ”

For millions of American customers it is awakening: earlier fashion without tax is now much more pricey. Thrifty Buyers can be tempted to buy from sellers in India or Mexico, where de minimis exemption still applies – at least For now. One Substantial Stunning Bill Act ends with a de minimis dismissal around the world From July 1, 2027.

Trade policy was unpredictable on the basis of President Donald Trump, and the de minimis rule was without exception. But with the global end of the exemption Now saved in the stateHis future seems a bit more certain. Although it is always wise New achievements from the White HouseI suspect that de minimis release from the USA may soon be a past.