US senator Sherrod Brown has joined a call to the Biden Administration to close the de minimis loophole, which is said to allow three million shipments a day to evade inspections and US trade rules.

Brown joined manufacturers, retailers, law enforcement, and workers at MMI Textiles in Brooklyn, Ohio to push for the Biden administration to close the loophole he said allows foreign countries like China to exploit and avoid paying duties and fees they owe.

Brown has introduced bipartisan legislation to address the problem, and says he has repeatedly called on President Biden to take executive action to close the loophole.

“We know what a problem unfair foreign competition is for Ohio companies, particularly from China. Tariffs have been one way to counter this and level the playing field for American manufacturing, but this de minimis loophole is yet another way for China to cheat,” said Brown. “And because these packages enter the US with minimal inspection, drug traffickers are also exploiting the de minimis loophole to send deadly drugs like fentanyl into our country without any detection.”

At present packages under $800 in valuation are exempted from US duties, taxes, and fees, and are allowed to enter the country with little or no inspections.

Campaigners say the number of packages using this loophole to avoid duties has soared recently to more than three million packages per day which often include counterfeit items and goods made under questionable labour conditions. They say urgent action is needed to prevent unfair competition and exploitation of US manufacturers. 

“The de minimis loophole continues to wreak havoc on an already fragile textile industry due to fast fashion imports that get duty-free access to the USA. Our US textile industry is vital for the country to provide an industrial base to the military and PPE sectors,” said Amy Bircher Bruyn, CEO of MMI Textiles.