October 28th, 2024
Dear Secretary Yellen and Secretary Mayorkas:
We write regarding our concern about use of the de minimis trade provision to facilitate the illegal drug trade and ship billions of dollars’ worth of imports into the United States, bypassing inspections, tariffs, and trade enforcement that protect American consumers and businesses from criminal behavior and illegal trade. The administration’s recent announcement of proposed rulemaking1 represented a first step towards addressing abuses of the de minimis provision, but additional actions are necessary. We ask that you fully address these serious concerns by using your statutory authority to eliminate the de minimis exemption for e- commerce shipments.