Biden restricts import of fentanyl by mail

President Joe Biden has issued new executive orders aimed at cracking down on illegal goods like fentanyl that criminals hide in millions of small e-commerce packages shipped to the United States every day, particularly by Chinese entities.

The Biden-Harris White House on Friday signed an executive order that equips officers in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations with new tools to track and intercept illegal items in shipments, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.

“The actions announced today by the Biden-Harris Administration will help the Department keep pace with global electronic commerce and improve our ability to protect communities from fentanyl and its precursor chemicals,” Mayorkas said in a statement.

The move is intended to address the rise in shipments covered by the “de minimis” exemption, which exempts imports of less than $800 from duty and requires less detail and information, including content. More than 1.2 billion small packages enter the country each year.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Chinese companies used the exemption to their advantage.

“American workers and businesses can beat anyone on a level playing field, but for too long, Chinese e-commerce platforms have skirted tariffs by abusing the de minimis exemption,” Raimondo said in a statement. “With these new actions, the Biden-Harris Administration is standing up for American consumers and cracking down on Chinese companies’ efforts to undermine American workers and businesses.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE IN THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The new rules mean DHS and the Justice Department will have a better chance of prosecuting carriers who conceal fentanyl or other illegal goods in small packages.

U.S. importers will be required to provide the federal government with certificates of compliance, giving agencies greater ability to pursue importers and exporters who ship and receive illegal goods.