What's happening?
On Feb. 4, the White House enacted new tariffs, paused them on Feb. 7, and then enacted them again on March 4, which included eliminating the de minimis trade exemption.
De minimis became law in the U.S. through the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, with the goal of letting people and small businesses skip import fees for small shipments. The original amount was $200 and was raised to $800 in 2016.
Why is the ending of de minimis important?
Fast fashion has made buying cheap clothing from overseas too easy, offering clothes for as little as a few dollars each and therefore encouraging a larger haul per customer. To be able to sell so cheaply, the clothing is made to deteriorate, or at least not made to last, causing Americans to toss 82 pounds of clothing every year, on average.
While these extra few dollars of tariffs might make companies like Shein and Temu absorb the costs with small price increases or find an alternate route to keep consumers, sustainability adv
On Feb. 4, the White House enacted new tariffs, paused them on Feb. 7, and then enacted them again on March 4, which included eliminating the de minimis trade exemption.
De minimis became law in the U.S. through the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, with the goal of letting people and small businesses skip import fees for small shipments. The original amount was $200 and was raised to $800 in 2016.
Why is the ending of de minimis important?
Fast fashion has made buying cheap clothing from overseas too easy, offering clothes for as little as a few dollars each and therefore encouraging a larger haul per customer. To be able to sell so cheaply, the clothing is made to deteriorate, or at least not made to last, causing Americans to toss 82 pounds of clothing every year, on average.
While these extra few dollars of tariffs might make companies like Shein and Temu absorb the costs with small price increases or find an alternate route to keep consumers, sustainability adv
2 months ago
