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.

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

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

WASHINGTON — President Trump has paused imposing tariffs on small-value packages arriving from China, apparently to give federal agencies time to sort out how to process millions of such shipments that have come through the U.S. border every day without paying taxes.

President Donald Trump's tariff plans put the de minimis exemption on the chopping block for China, Canada and Mexico imports, presenting challenges for e-commerce supply chains reliant on low-cost shipping.

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.