Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently introduced a bill that formalizes the legislation he released in August, the Fighting Illicit Goods, Helping Trustworthy Importers, and Netting Gains (FIGHTING) for America Act. The FIGHTING for America Act would remove de minimis treatment for goods impacted by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, as well as goods subject to Sections 232, 201, and 301.

Currently, the de minimis exemption under Section 321 allows goods with an aggregate value under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free and via an expedited process. Senator Wyden’s proposed FIGHTING for America Act would remove this exemption for items categorized as “import sensitive” and ineligible for duty-free treatment under GSP, as well as items subject to antidumping duties, countervailing duties, and tariffs under Sections 232, 301, and 201. Notably, the legislation would restrict de minimis treatment for textile and apparel imports, in an aim to target China’s growing e-commerce industry.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the volume of de minimis shipments processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), leading to concerns about the regulation and reporting of shipments entering the U.S. CBP currently processes approximately 4 million de minimis shipments per day, compared to 2.8 million shipments per day in the first quarter of 2023. A major factor in the increase has been the rise of de minimis shipments coming from China-based e-commerce platforms in the textile and apparel sectors.

In September, the Biden administration issued a statement suggesting several changes in response to the influx of de minimis shipments, such as calling on Congress to pass de minimis reform and proposing rules that would make imports subject to tariffs under Sections 232, 201, and 301 ineligible for de minimis treatment. There has been strong bipartisan support in Congress for de minimis reform, with several bills proposing changes to the de minimis exemption being introduced in this past year.

The elimination of de minimis treatment would likely affect companies that leverage direct-to-consumer commerce, and impact pre-existing supply chains and product prices if passed. 

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Sibilla Grenon

Sibilla Grenon is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group.

Before joining Crowell, Sibilla clerked for the Honorable Timothy M. Reif of the Court of International Trade, where she assisted Judge Reif in cases related to antidumping and countervailing duties, customs,

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Sibilla Grenon is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group.

Before joining Crowell, Sibilla clerked for the Honorable Timothy M. Reif of the Court of International Trade, where she assisted Judge Reif in cases related to antidumping and countervailing duties, customs, and matters arising from the Court’s residual jurisdiction. Sibilla also assisted Judge Reif in the adjudication of cases before the Southern District of New York, notably in areas of trade secret and copyright law. Prior to her clerkship, Sibilla was an associate in the litigation group of a law firm where she represented clients on compliance issues concerning privacy and data security for large corporations in accordance with state, federal, and international privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA, CPRA, TCPA, BIPA, and GLBA) and employment matters.

Sibilla is a Rising Leader with the Aspen Strategy Group, a program that cultivates the next generation of rising leaders in national security and foreign policy.

As a law student, Sibilla served as the articles editor for the Georgetown Journal of International Law, a fellow at the Institute of International Economic Law, and was a member of Georgetown’s francophone moot court team of the Concours d’Arbitrage International de Paris.

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Photo of Ivy Xun Ivy Xun

Ivy Xun is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. She provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She…

Ivy Xun is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. She provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She works closely with attorneys developing courses of action for clients impacted by investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Ivy also supports unfair trade investigations, including antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, sunset reviews, and changed circumstance reviews before the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission.

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