US Ends Trade Exemption That Enabled Flood of Cheap Chinese Goods

One second past midnight on May 2, the United States will end a trading policy it says has been exploited by China to flood the U.S. market with cheap goods and smuggle illicit drugs into the country. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April to end the de minimis exemption for goods imported from China and Hong Kong as of May 2. The White House called it “a critical step in countering the ongoing health emergency posed by the illicit flow of synthetic opioids into the U.S.” The de minimis exemption allows goods valued at or under $800 to enter the United States without being subject to duties and taxes....