"When Trump eliminated the de minimis exemption, four million packages daily lost duty-free status. That's 92% of all cargo facing tariffs, and small businesses are drowning. Eight major tariff adjustments in the past 12 months have created a policy whiplash that large corporations can navigate but small businesses cannot. Yet these policies assume corporate-level resources that small businesses simply don't have, costing them $856,000 annually, while only 37% have access to business credit to weather these changes."
"The financial impact is precise and brutal. A family-run restaurant facing 40% ingredient cost increases has three impossible choices: absorb margin-killing costs, raise prices, or find non-existent domestic alternatives. For a typical small business generating about $1.2 million in annual revenue, even modest trade swings can erase 10%-15% of top-line income. That volatility has become the new normal. Small firms plan around policy uncertainty as a baseline, despite lacking trade consultants, legal teams, and cash reserves that larger corporations use to navigate changes."
Eliminating the de minimis exemption caused four million daily packages to lose duty-free status, bringing 92% of cargo under tariffs and overwhelming small businesses. Eight major tariff adjustments in the past 12 months created a policy whiplash that large corporations can navigate but most small importers cannot. Small businesses represent 97% of U.S. importers, lack corporate-level resources, and face costs around $856,000 annually while only 37% have business credit. Typical firms with about $1.2 million in revenue can lose 10–15% of top-line income from modest trade swings. Large firms can stockpile, diversify, and access credit; small firms cannot.
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