USTR Section 301 Action on China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance

2) Reminder – China and Hong Kong Ineligible for De Minimis effective May 2, 2025 

Under a series of executive orders (EOs 14256, 14259, and 14266), the U.S. government is eliminating the “de minimis” duty exemption for certain low-value imports from China and Hong Kong, effective May 2, 2025, as part of efforts to combat the synthetic opioid supply chain. 

Low value goods from CN and HK must now be entered under informal or formal entry types (e.g., Type 01 or 11). Such products may not be entered using Entry Type 86. Electronic filing in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is required. Paper entries are no longer allowed (except for mail-based shipments). 

Furthermore, as noted in the Federal Register, CBP regulations that conflict with, or otherwise hinder, the implementation of the directives set forth in Executive Order 14256—as amended by Executive Orders 14259 and 14266 and implemented in this notice—are suspended or modified, as appropriate. The temporarily suspended regulations, until further notice, include but are not limited to: 19 CFR 145.12(b) (regarding CBP’s preparation of informal mail entries); 19 CFR 145.31 (concerning mail imports valued under $800); the exception clause in 19 CFR 143.21(a) (relating to articles over $250 classified under Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV, HTSUS ); and any other CBP regulation—excluding those related to mail—that permits entry filing for goods valued at or below $800, which would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C), by means other than ACE. 

For clarity, the suspension relating to the exception clause relating to articles over $250 classified under Chapter 99, means informal entries are now allowed for all shipments of merchandise not exceeding $2,500 in value. 

According to CSMS # 64792502, below is the messaging filers will receive: 

Air Manifest: 

• New Air EDI validations for bills of lading with a CED line to release off the manifest [i.e. a disposition type 86 is posted to the bill]. 
• If the filer receives the following error codes for an air manifest shipment, it means that de minimis clearance will not be granted and the filer must take the appropriate action to bring the shipment into compliance with the requirements of EO 14256, as amended. 
• 181    COUNTRY OF ORIGIN CODE INVALID 
• 110    CBP ENTRY LINE IGNORED 
• 188      EXPRESS RECORD INCOMPLETE 
• All messages will be sent in the form of an FER response message by ACE. 
    

Truck Manifest: 

• If the filer receives a message using the 470 (Inv Ctry of Orig for Shp) error code, it means that the shipment cannot receive de minimis clearance, and the filer must take the appropriate action to bring the shipment into compliance with EO 14256, as amended. 
• For any bills filed prior to, but arriving after the actions in EO 14256, as amended, take effect, ACE will generate a 350 notification, using an existing disposition code for “Entry Not on File.” If the filer receives this message, it means that the shipment will be rejected at Primary and the filer must take the appropriate action to bring the shipment into compliance with EO 14256, as amended. 
    

Manifest – All Modes: 

• In situations where a manifest was filed before the actions outlined in EO 14256, as amended, become effective, but the conveyance will arrive after, the carrier will receive a 1M message notifying them that the shipment is not eligible for de minimis clearance, and the filer must take the appropriate action to bring it into compliance. 
• For all modes where a 1C release message was already sent to the carrier/manifest filer, but the conveyance has not yet arrived, ACE will generate and send a 4E (cancel entry message) to cancel the release upon conveyance arrival. 
    

Cargo Release/ Entry Type 86 (ET86):  All Modes 

• For ineligible ET86 transactions, ACE will return a “Reject” status with an additional error code of 318 – COUNTRY CODE INELIGIBLE FOR ET86 (SX error code message). 
• In any instance where the ET86 is in released status before the arrival of the bill, the filer will receive an SO disposition message of “Release-Suspended” with an error code 33 – ET86 INELIGIBLE COUNTRY; CANNOT RELEASE. 
• If these error messages are received, the filer must take the appropriate action to bring the shipments into compliance with EO 14256, as amended. 
    

Shipments Entering via International Mail 

• In accordance with EO 14256, as amended, international postal packages sent to the U.S.  through the international postal network from the PRC or Hong Kong which contain goods that are products of the PRC or Hong Kong, which are valued at $800 or less and would have been eligible for the de minimis exemption prior to EO 14256, as amended, will be subject to one of the following duties effective 12:01 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2025: 
  • An ad valorem duty of 120 percent of the value of the shipment; or 
  • A specific duty of $100 per shipment (effective 12:01 a.m. EDT on June 1, 2025, the specific duty becomes $200 per shipment). 
• Transportation carriers delivering shipments to the United States from the PRC or Hong Kong sent through the international postal network must collect and remit duties to CBP under the approach outlined in either subsection (c)(i) or subsection (c)(ii) of EO 14256, as amended. 
• Carriers transporting international postal packages will be responsible for collecting the duty owed pursuant to EO 14256, as amended, and remitting the duty to CBP on a monthly basis, or on such other periodic time frame as CBP determines appropriate. 
• Pursuant to EO 14256, as amended, transportation carriers must apply the same duty collection methodology to all shipments; however, transportation carriers may change their collection methodology once a month or on such other periodic timeframe as CBP determines appropriate, upon providing 24-hour notice to CBP. 
• Any carrier that transports international postal items containing goods from the PRC or Hong Kong to the United States, by any mode of transportation, must have an international carrier bond to ensure payment of the duty described in EO 14256, as amended. 

References: 

• CSMS # 64792502 - GUIDANCE: ACE Processing of De Minimis Shipments Per Executive Order 14256 Issued April 2, 2025, “Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China as Applied to Low-Value Imports,” as Amended by Subsequent Orders 
• 2025-07325.pdf