Dark web dealers halt US shipments as Trump scraps "catastrophic" border loophole
Abolition of "de minimis" rule that exempted low-value packages from import duties prompts panic in the underworld.
Dark web drug dealers have suspended shipments to the US after the Trump administration scrapped a long-standing rule that exempted low-cost packages from import duties.
On Friday August 29th, the "de minimus" rules were lifted and all packages under $800 became subject to import taxes.
This prompted dozens of postal firms in the EU and other countries worldwide to suspend their services as they await the outcome of the customs changes.
Now Machine has discovered that narcotics kingpins have also voluntarily halted shipments due to fears that the demise of de minimis will lead to new scrutiny at the border.
This exemption was first introduced in 1938 to reduce the costs of processing imports subject to only small amounts of duty. Originally, it applied to packages worth less than $200, but the total exemption was raised to $800 in 2015 to support e-commerce and small business growth.
Last year, 1.4 billion packages worth a total of more than $64bn crossed the border without tariffs being levied - including vast amounts of narcotics.
During the financial year of 2024, 98% of narcotics seizures originated as de minimis shipments, according to figures released by the White House.
The abolition of the exemption is expected to generate billions of dollars of tariff revenue and stem the flow of opioids and other drugs into the US.
Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser, said: "President Trump’s ending of the deadly de minimis loophole will save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous prohibited items, and add up to $10bn a year in tariff revenues to our Treasury."
Trump vs the dark web
Postal companies in approximately 25 countries worldwide have suspended shipping to the US due to the de minimis changes, which apply to packages worth more than $100 and must be paid by the sender, creating an obvious challenge for dealers who wish to remain anonymous.
The change has already sparked fear and panic in the underworld.
Machine has discovered a number of posts from prominent dark web narcotics dealers telling customers they could no longer post meth, heroin and other drugs into the US.
The supply of substances like cannabis is unlikely to be affected by the rules, because many US states have legalised weed and there is no need to import it.
But it is likely to hit the supply of deadly fentanyl and other killer opioids, which can be obtained relatively cheaply on the dark web, imported into America and then sold at a huge markup.
On an infamous dark web forum, one seller of "SEA #4" - highly refined heroin from South East Asia that carries an increased overdose risk due to its strength - announced they would no longer be dealing to American customers.
They wrote: "Due to the ending of the de minimis tax exemption and the source country now suspending all mail to the United States until further notice, the SEA #4 will not be available for the foreseeable future. If anything changes, I will post a new update."
READ MORE: Europol smashes dark web drug networks, arrests 270 vendors and buyers
A methamphetamine dealer from South East Asia blamed their local postal service's decision to suspend services to the US for problems getting drugs into the States.
"With a heavy heart filled with nothing but sadness, I write to inform the general public that the USA new high tariff policy on postal services affected my location/country and a ban on postal services has been placed on USA by my location/country," the meth peddler wrote.
"The USA is my biggest market and I have been crying since morning. I hope this issue will be resolved soon so I can continue with my esteemed USA customers. But if nothing is done about it within the shortest period of time, then I will find another way.
"I'm really pissed about this development, and I deeply apologise."
An "anarcho-pharmacist" from Europe who sells methadone and Subutex, which are used in the treatment of heroin addiction, also wrote: "Unfortunately, we are suspending shipments to the United States. Thank your president for that."
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Some dealers predicted that the beefed-up duties and security measures would increase drug prices in the US.
"I order outside America sometimes for larger orders for cheaper prices," one wrote. "For example, ecstasy from France is a dollar or less per pill, whereas it's 6 to 7 dollars over here. I usually order domestic, but this could also hurt resellers in America because they are more than likely getting from overseas as well."
Another measure which could help to tackle dark web drug selling is the privatisation of the United States Postal Service (USPS) mooted by Trump and his allies.
Currently, the USPS is prevented from opening packages without a warrant - a restriction that does not apply to private companies.
"Giving one of their fuckzillionaire buddies the US postal service to control as a private company for profit is one of their biggest wet dreams," one angry drug user claimed. "Say goodbye to any mail privacy we ever thought we had if they succeed."
Why has President Trump shut down de minimis?
Regardless of the sentiment expressed by narcotics abusers and their dark web dealers, any reduction in the amount of illegal substances pouring over the US border is likely to be welcomed at the White House.
When President Trump signed an Executive Order suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value shipments, the White House said it would "close a catastrophic loophole used to, among other things, evade tariffs and funnel deadly synthetic opioids as well as other unsafe or below-market products that harm American workers and businesses into the United States."
"The de minimis exemption has been abused, with shippers sending illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, precursors, and paraphernalia into the United States in reliance on the lower security measures applied to de minimis shipments, killing Americans," the administration wrote.
"The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which exerts ultimate control over the government and enterprises of the PRC, has subsidized and otherwise incentivized PRC chemical companies to export fentanyl and related precursor chemicals that are used to produce synthetic opioids sold illicitly in the United States.
"Many PRC-based chemical companies hide illicit substances in the flow of legitimate commerce, including through false invoices, fraudulent postage, and deceptive packaging."
READ MORE: Cops seize Archetyp, arrest bosses of "longest-standing" dark web drug marketplace
During the last fiscal year, US Customs and Border Protection seized more than 21,000 pounds of fentanyl - enough to kill more than 4 billion people.
"It is estimated that federal officials are only able to seize a fraction of the fentanyl smuggled across the southern border," the White House added.
"These drugs kill tens of thousands of Americans each year, including 75,000 deaths per year attributed to fentanyl alone.
"More Americans are dying from fentanyl overdoses each year than the number of American lives lost in the entirety of the Vietnam War."
Synthetic opioids like fentalyl claim lives of approximately two hundred Americans per day, with overdoses from these appalling substances representing the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 45 in the US.
