Murphy Introduces Legislation to Improve Enforcement of US Trade Policies on China

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. introduced the End China’s De Minimis Abuse Act, legislation to prevent China from evading tariffs on goods, improve transparency and data collection, and strengthen enforcement of existing law.

"China must not be allowed to evade tariffs at the expense of American businesses and workers,"  said Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D."President Trump took great strides to rein in China's unfair trade practices and abuses. By updating our De Minimis law, we are ensuring that American businesses have the opportunity to compete on a level playing field. The End China’s De Minimis Abuse Act is a critical update necessary to supporting our small business economy."

“We can no longer tolerate China’s abuse of U.S. trade policy in order to dodge accountability and evade tariffs,”  said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith.“When nearly two-thirds of all imports arriving in the U.S. under a privileged exemption come from China, it’s clear there’s a problem. I am thankful to Rep. Murphy for introducing this legislation to level the playing field and ensure bad actors are held accountable.”

Background
In 2018, President Trump imposed new tariffs on more than half of Chinese imports pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1947. Under current law, goods valued at under $800 are free of duty, and of any tax, if a shipment is imported by one person to another on the same day. Many Chinese firms have avoided paying these tariffs on imports less than $800 in value as a result of the De Minimis privilege.

The legislation ends De Minimis evasion of trade enforcement tariffs, improves transparency and data collection on De Minimis entries into our supply chains, and adds penalties for those who violate U.S. law through De Minimis entries.