Keep De Minimis Exemption at $800, CTA, IA, NRF, Others Urge USTR

CTA, the Information Technology Industry Council, National Retail Federation and a dozen others want U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to strip language from the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that leaves open lowering the de minimis exemption from $800. It's the maximum value of merchandise that can be imported duty- and tax-free. Congress unilaterally raised it in 2016 from $200 because "reduced logistics costs improve the bottom line of American small businesses across industries who import low value components for assembly and value-added manufacturing operations," said Tuesday's letter. It benefits "importers and logistics firms by reducing the time and cost to process millions of shipments and shaving a half-a-day or more from clearing each," they said. Others signing included the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Information Technology Industry Council and Internet Association.