The de minimis trade loophole will be buried in the Cathedral of Congress on May 2.

De minimis, or Section 321(a)(2)(C) of the Tariff Act of 1930, was first cleared by Congress in 1938. The de minimis trade exemption permitted shipments costing less than $800 to enter the US duty-free and with minimal paperwork and verification. Assuming the White House follows through on its executive order signed on April 2, this so-called trade loophole—that saved several brands thousands of dollars in shipping costs, will cease to exist from May 2.

We asked two experts what a suitable epitaph for de minimis would be, and they said few will shed tears over its departure. While history may not be too kind to de minimis, however, its end will fundamentally change the economics of e-commerce pricing, and the advantages enjoyed by China-linked e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu end, too.

No void to fill: Phil Masiello, CEO of revenue acceleration agency Crunchgrowth, told Retail Brew, “I am not sorry that [de minimis is] going away, because I do think that Shein and Temu had an unfair advantage against people selling on Amazon.”

To make it official that the de minimis party is over, Shein and Temu both announced that they will begin to raise prices from April 25.

US Customs and Border Protection processes over 4 million de minimis shipments a day. Out of these, Brian Tu, chief revenue officer at logistics firm DCL Logistics, estimated roughly 2 million packages are orders placed on marketplaces like Temu and Shein.

Keep reading here.—VC

Retail sales rose 1.4% to $734.9 billion in March and 4.6% year over year, the Commerce Department reported today. The sales bump follows the underwhelming 0.2% rise in February, and could indicate consumers are stocking up on products before their price tags are boosted by tariffs.

Last week, the Consumer Price Index, reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed inflation dropped 2.4% annually and 0.1% month over month—the first monthly dip since May 2020, and the potential calm before the storm of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

The largest increase came from motor vehicle and parts dealers, up 5.3%, leading the supply of new and used vehicles in the US to quickly decline. Retail trade sales—which excludes motor vehicles, parts, and gas stations—were up 0.8% from February.

Keep reading here.—EC

Searches for party supplies on Michaels.com have surged 155% since the beginning of the year. Now the arts and crafts store is expanding its selection of balloons, decor, and accessories to meet demand.

• Over this same period, one-time category killer Party City shuttered all 700 of its stores as part of its second bankruptcy in as many years. Now discounters such as Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are buying up former locations and depriving many a shopping strip of its one-stop shop for party supplies.

But the party isn’t over for this important category. Michaels is picking up the slack with 500 new party-related products, marking a 200% increase in its party (product) mix.

Keep reading here.—AV