White House just ended the de minimis exemption for all commercial shipments.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/07/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-is-protecting-the-united-states-national-security-and-economy-by-suspending-the-de-minimis-exemption-for-commercial-shipments-globally/
They keep doing things that would need more layers of bureaucracy, then gutting the agencies that would oversee that bureaucracy, then going back and saying they never even wanted to do the first thing. It’s confusing and pointless.
Like how is US customs going to enforce tariffs and customs on literally everything coming in
Like am I going to have to declare that I’m carrying an $18 t-shirt and 3 euros in cash if I’m returning from a trip? And customs is going to process that? Even if I pay a tariff on that it doesn’t seem like it’s worth the time for multiple government workers to do an interview, paperwork, then process a payment. Fucking waste of time that will only serve to confuse and piss off everyone
Like am I going to have to declare that I’m carrying an $18 t-shirt and 3 euros in cash if I’m returning from a trip? And customs is going to process that?
That would be a pretty funny outcome. A lot of countries already have awkward and inconsistently applied enforcement for people who are simply traveling with expensive equipment that is subject to customs duties. Imagine if the distinction between market goods and personal property was simply eliminated, and everyone had to pay duties on everything they brought into the country.
They keep doing things that would need more layers of bureaucracy, then gutting the agencies that would oversee that bureaucracy, then going back and saying they never even wanted to do the first thing. It’s confusing and pointless.
Like how is US customs going to enforce tariffs and customs on literally everything coming in
Like am I going to have to declare that I’m carrying an $18 t-shirt and 3 euros in cash if I’m returning from a trip? And customs is going to process that? Even if I pay a tariff on that it doesn’t seem like it’s worth the time for multiple government workers to do an interview, paperwork, then process a payment. Fucking waste of time that will only serve to confuse and piss off everyone
That would be a pretty funny outcome. A lot of countries already have awkward and inconsistently applied enforcement for people who are simply traveling with expensive equipment that is subject to customs duties. Imagine if the distinction between market goods and personal property was simply eliminated, and everyone had to pay duties on everything they brought into the country.