Congress quietly raises prices on cheap imports—hitting online shoppers hardest
S. 1867 — Closing the De Minimis Loophole Act · Filed by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced May 22, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill eliminates the 'de minimis' tariff exemption under Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which currently allows small-value imports (typically under $800) to enter the U.S. without paying tariffs or duties. The bill closes this loophole immediately for Chinese goods and within 120 days for all other countries, requiring the Treasury Department to establish new entry procedures, data collection rules, and penalty enforcement to ensure tariffs are collected on previously exempt shipments.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to expand tariff collection authority by closing a long-standing exemption for low-value imports. It is a trade/revenue measure, not a consumer protection or public-benefit bill, despite framing as a 'loophole' closure.
What the text implies
- E-commerce and cross-border shopping will become more expensive for U.S. consumers, as tariffs on sub-$800 items (common for online retail, especially from China) will now apply. This may disproportionately affect lower-income households that rely on price-sensitive platforms.
- Small importers and dropshippers may face significant compliance costs to track HTS codes and entry procedures, potentially consolidating market power among larger logistics firms and retailers.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
domestic manufacturers (protected from tariff-avoidance competition); large logistics and fulfillment companies (better positioned to absorb compliance costs); U.S. federal government (increased tariff revenue)