Current:Home > NewsSenators urge Biden to end duty-free treatment for packages valued at less than $800-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Senators urge Biden to end duty-free treatment for packages valued at less than $800
View Date:2024-12-24 00:19:33
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. senators looking to crack down on the number of packages from China that enter the country duty-free are calling on President Joe Biden to take executive action, saying U.S. manufacturers can’t compete with low-cost competitors they say rely on forced labor and state subsidies in key sectors.
U.S. trade law allows packages bound for American consumers and valued below a certain threshold to enter tariff-free. That threshold, under a category known as “de minimis,” stands at $800 per person, per day. The majority of the imports are retail products purchased online.
Alarmed by the large increase in such shipments from China, lawmakers in both chambers have filed legislation to alter how the U.S. treats imports valued at less than $800. Now, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have sent a letter to Biden calling on him to end the duty-free treatment altogether for those products.
“The situation has reached a tipping point where vast sections of American manufacturing and retail are at stake if de minimis is not immediately addressed,” the senators wrote.
Brown and Scott singled out Temu, Shein and AliExpress in their letter as companies that “unfairly” benefit from the duty-free treatment of their goods. The surge in shipments, they said, hurts big box stores and other retailers in the U.S.
“This out-of-control problem impacts the safety and livelihoods of Americans, outsourcing not only our manufacturing, but also our retail sectors to China, which — as you know — systematically utilizes slave labor among other unconscionable practices to undermine our economy,” the senators said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter, which was provided to The Associated Press.
Congress raised the threshold for expedited and duty-fee imports into the U.S. from $200 back in 2016. The argument for doing so is that it speeds up the pace of commerce and lowers costs for consumers. It also allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection to focus its resources on the bigger-ticket items that generate more tariff revenue for the federal government.
The change in duty-free treatment has led to a significant increase in “de minimis” shipments, from about 220 million packages that year to 685 million in fiscal year 2022.
The higher $800 threshold for duty-free treatment has strong backing from many in the business community. John Pickel, a senior director at the National Foreign Trade Council, a trade association that represents a broad range of companies, said that doing as the senators are urging would increase the amount of time it takes for shipments to arrive as they go through a more cumbersome inspection process at the border. And those products would cost more.
“The increase from $200 to $800 has not really been a significant driver in terms of volume,” Pickel said. “What’s really driving interest in the use of de minimis is the desire for consumers to access their products quickly and at a lower transaction cost.”
He said the average shipment that comes into the U.S. through the de minimis category is $55. But that cost would roughly double for the consumer if de minimis treatment no longer applied because importers would have to hire a customs broker and pay additional processing fees and the import duty.
veryGood! (4792)
Related
- Jennifer Lopez Turns Wicked Premiere Into Family Outing With 16-Year-Old Emme
- Hunter Biden's former business partner was willing to go before a grand jury. He never got the chance.
- Cameron Boyce Honored by Descendants Co-Stars at Benefit Almost 4 Years After His Death
- Prince Harry Testimony Bombshells: Princess Diana Hacked, Chelsy Davy Breakup and More
- Giuliani’s lawyers after $148M defamation judgment seek to withdraw from his case
- Read the full text of the dissents in the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling by Sotomayor and Jackson
- Activists Gird for a Bigger Battle Over Oil and Fumes from a Port City’s Tank Farms
- DC Young Fly Speaks Out After Partner Jacky Oh’s Death at Age 33
- Florida education officials report hundreds of books pulled from school libraries
- More Than 100 Cities Worldwide Now Powered Primarily by Renewable Energy
Ranking
- US Election Darkens the Door of COP29 as It Opens in Azerbaijan
- In Remote Town in Mali, Africa’s Climate Change Future is Now
- Experts Divided Over Safety of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant
- U.S. hostage envoy says call from Paul Whelan after Brittney Griner's release was one of the toughest he's ever had
- Louisiana asks court to block part of ruling against Ten Commandments in classrooms
- Overdose deaths from fentanyl combined with xylazine surge in some states, CDC reports
- BP’s Selling Off Its Alaska Oil Assets. The Buyer Has a History of Safety Violations.
- The Idol Costume Designer Natasha Newman-Thomas Details the Dark, Twisted Fantasy of the Fashion
Recommendation
-
Will Trump’s hush money conviction stand? A judge will rule on the president-elect’s immunity claim
-
A Kentucky Power Plant’s Demise Signals a Reckoning for Coal
-
Read full text of the Supreme Court affirmative action decision and ruling in high-stakes case
-
In ‘After Water’ Project, 12 Writers Imagine Life in Climate Change-Altered Chicago
-
These Yellowstone Gift Guide Picks Will Make You Feel Like You’re on the Dutton Ranch
-
Biden Puts Climate Change at Center of Presidential Campaign, Calling Trump a ‘Climate Arsonist’
-
Congress Extends Tax Breaks for Clean Energy — and Carbon Capture
-
Changing Patterns of Ocean Salt Levels Give Scientists Clues to Extreme Weather on Land