The “de minimis” exemption — Latin for insignificant — is probably the reason you’ve been getting cheap stuff from overseas without paying extra for customs or duties. The United States has allowed this in some form since 1938. It ends Friday.

The White House called the exemption for imports valued at $800 or less a gaping loophole that made it easy to dodge taxes and smuggle drugs. That is true: Ninety-eight percent of narcotics seized from cargo was found in packages sent under the exemption. Yet it has also made everyday products more affordable, including for small businesses such as boutiques, and the rapid implementation is creating chaos that might give way to sticker shock as prices get passed along to consumers. Advertisement Advertisement

President Donald Trump gave only a m

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