Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“The August 29 planned abolition of the de minimis customs exemption in the United States may come as a shock to those who believe that, as the physical universe is made of visible matter and dark matter, the political world is made of Democratic and Republican stuff, ‘the Left’ and ‘the Right.’ The restriction of de minimis was launched under Democratic rule and is pursued under Republican rule. … They want, as they say in collectivist circles, to ‘close the loophole.’ The abolition of the little freedom allowed by de minimis is more significant than one may think. For the government, the exception had the benefit of keeping ‘the people’ quiet by hiding some tariffs.” (08/19/25)