A Latin term that’s been little-known outside the world of customs brokers has suddenly become the stuff of headlines. Along with imposing new 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports as of Feb. 4, US President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of his country’s special rules for “de minimis” merchandise from China and Hong Kong.

President Trump reinstates the de minimis tariff exemption, allowing for tax-free imports on goods under a certain value threshold.

Friday saw the president reopen the floodgates for millions of duty-free shipments from e-commerce firms like Shein and Temu.

U.S. President Donald Trump this week shut a trade loophole that has been used to ship low-value packages duty-free from China, the "de minimis" exemption on import tariffs. Trump's halt to Section 321 de minimis is part of his implementation of an additional 10% tariff on China and 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico,

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that puts a pause on his closing of the de minimis trade exemption.

Trump has paused tariffs on small-value packages arriving from China, apparently to give U.S. agencies time to sort out how to process millions of such shipments.

President Trump signed an executive order this week that temporarily prevents low-cost packages from China from being slapped with his new tariffs. The move delays the suspension of the de minimis

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday delaying tariffs on lower-value packages from China that enjoy the exemptions until the US Commerce Department can confirm that procedures and systems are in place to process packages and collect tariff revenue.