Blumenauer Says Ending de Minimis for China Could Happen This Year

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., recently said CBP needs to do more to know what's inside packages imported under the de minimis threshold, adding that the agency “has no idea what's coming in.”

The congressman, who is the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, said the majority of packages sent to the U.S. with values under $800 are from China, and if his bill passes, those Chinese packages would be ineligible, thereby reducing the volume of de minimis entries.

"We think if we stop having a gusher of product from China, there's less pressure on Customs and Border Control ... so they can catch up to where they need to be," Blumenauer said on a June 29 podcast hosted by Alliance for American Manufacturing CEO Scott Paul.

Blumenauer said Chinese exporters should not be eligible because there are forced labor issues in China, and because its manufacturers are known to "play fast and loose dealing with our intellectual property protections." He also blamed safety defects on the lack of oversight.

"They're exempt from taxes, tariffs, following rules and regulations, product safety, forced labor," he said. "We're having examples of exploding e-bike batteries causing fires in the States. This [provision] has promoted sales of e-bikes that are $799. They don't have to meet any consumer safety regulations."

Blumenauer said building fires that have been caused by battery fires have resulted in fatalities.

He also complained that shippers lie about the value of packages. "In some cases there are packages that weigh 500 pounds that declare a value of a dollar. I mean, it's just ludicrous," he said. "This de minimis provision has turned into a massive loophole."

He also pointed to fast fashion imports from Chinese apps, which he said has become "a major industry," and that having those clothes be subject to the same tariffs as bulk imports would "provide some equity in the marketplace."

De minimis "disadvantages American-made products and American businesses," he said.

He expressed optimism that a bill could pass this year, as the Select Committee on China has gotten on board, and a Senate bill restricting de minimis has several Republicans as co-sponsors.

"We're finding the more people pay attention to our legislation and the reasons for it, the more support that we get," he said. "It is an opportunity to protect our values, to have equal enforcement of the law, to make sure we're protecting the American consumer."