In recent months, small businesses like ours at John’s Crazy Socks have been caught in the storm of uncertainty surrounding the elimination of the de minimis exemption on packages entering the United States.

For years, the de minimis rule allowed packages valued under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free. It wasn’t a loophole, it was a policy choice, one that made global commerce faster and more efficient. In 2023, more than 1.36 billion packages entered the U.S. under this exemption. That’s about 4 million packages per day.

At John’s Crazy Socks, almost all of our custom sock orders qualified. Like many small retailers, we built our international supply chain around that rule. It enabled us to deliver timely and affordable products for our customers. It helped us spread happiness.

Changes In Policy Requires Changes in Practice

Now, the de minimus exemption is gone. Reasonable people can debate the merits of that policy change. Some argue it was overdue. Others, see it as an unnecessary burden on small businesses. But here’s the real issue: Execution matters.

The U.S. government has not made clear how packages will be processed or how tariffs will be collected under the new rules. The result? Chaos.

• Postal services in other countries have suspended shipments to the U.S. rather than risk unprocessed packages piling up. Almost every country in Europe and many throughout Asia have halted shipments to the U.S.
• DHL, one of the largest global shippers, has paused deliveries into the U.S. as well.
• Retailers like us face cost and timing uncertainty. It’s one thing to know prices are going up, that’s part of business and we can plan for that. It’s a much bigger problem not knowing what we’ll pay or when we’ll receive shipments.

Small businesses thrive on reliability. We can manage risk, adapt to change, and budget for higher costs. What we cannot manage is uncertainty born of poor execution.

Policy changes will always come. That’s the role of our elected officials. But when those changes are rolled out without clarity or preparation, the unintended consequences ripple through every corner of the economy hitting small businesses hardest.

At John’s Crazy Socks, we’ve built our company around a mission of spreading happiness. But lately, this uncertainty has brought more headaches than joy. We urge policymakers to remember: when execution fails, it’s not abstract. It hurts businesses, workers, and customers across America.

We need a rapid fix to the management of the removal of the de minimus exemption.  Our business and future depend on it.