It’s not clear what might happen when Trump takes office. He has discussed significantly increasing tariffs on products imported from China. If that happens, many more companies would probably try to save money by latching onto the tariff-free rule used by Temu, Shein and Amazon Haul.
“The higher the tariff on something, then the more attractive it becomes to find some way around it,” said Ed Gresser, a former U.S. trade official now with the Progressive Policy Institute. “De minimis is a legal way around it.”
Gresser, whose group generally opposes tariffs, believes that if the Trump administration expands tariffs, it would also want to change or end the tariff-free shipping rule.
