WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s proposed rule changing how low-value imports are processed by customs poses risks for billions of dollars in cross-border revenue generated for motor carriers, according to the American Trucking Associations.
In comments filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ATA’s senior manager for international trade and security policy, Kaitlyn Holmecki, argued that CBP’s Entry of Low-Value Shipment rule, which will affect shipments of $800 or less hauled into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico, “will require major capital investment” by CBP for the agency to be able to properly identify whether a shipment qualifies for special tax exemptions.
“Moreover, these changes will place logistics firms on a steep learning curve while they determine which parties own the new data elements and the optimum approach to collecting the data and consolidating it for submission to CBP,” Holmecki wrote.
“ATA therefore recommends that a period of informed compliance for at least one year be implemented upon issuance of the final rule.” Such compliance usually involves some form of non-binding guidance from authorities before regulations become effective.
The proposed rule, published in January during the last days of the Biden administration, is aimed at improving CBP’s ability to target high-risk shipments, specifically those attempting to smuggle illegal synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
It would require additional data elements from commercial entities to help CBP verify eligibility for duty- and tax-free entry of low-value “de minimis” shipments.
Citing government statistics, ATA noted that 174.2 million such shipments were transported into the U.S. via truck in fiscal year 2024. While that’s a small percentage of the total volume of goods imported into the U.S. by truck each year, “this does not mean that efficient processing methods are not especially important at land ports of entry,” Holmecki stated.
ATA pointed out that trucks haul 85% of goods that cross the Southern border and 67% of goods that cross the Northern border, equating to $17.73 billion in revenue for motor carriers. “In short, the safe and efficient movement of trade across both borders is essential for a thriving economy, including the ever-increasing volume of de minimis shipments.”
But changing cross-border policy for those low-value shipments, ATA argued, will require “extensive modifications” on CBP’s part. The need for those modifications became apparent in February, said Holmecki, after the White House issued an executive order that eliminated the tax exemption for de minimis shipments and imposed a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods.
“However, that decision was quickly reversed after bottlenecks started forming at ports of entry and it became clear that CBP did not have the necessary resources to collect tariffs on all the products that no longer qualified for the de minimis exemption.
“Efficiency is paramount to ensure the safe movement of trade across borders, therefore it is imperative that CBP roll out this new policy in a thoughtful and measured manner.”
Modifications suggested by ATA include coordinating advance manifest listings with bills of lading, consolidating data from different parties in the supply chain into a single submission and providing flexibility in implementing provisions related to the $800 shipment limit.
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