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COALITION MEMBERS: Achieve Greatness AFL-CIO Alliance for American Manufacturing Coalition for a Prosperous America Citizens Trade Campaign Families Against Fentanyl Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina International Association of Chiefs of Police Kelsie’s Cause Lost Voices of Fentanyl National Association of Police Organizations National Bicycle Dealers Association National Council of Textile Organizations National Crime Prevention Council National Sheriffs’ Association New Balance PeopleForBikes.org Public Citizen Remake Reshoring Initiative Rethink Trade Service Employees International Union Shatterproof Sherrill Manufacturing Specialized Bikes United Against Fentanyl United Steelworkers Victims of Illicit Drugs, VOID Voices for Awareness / Facing Fentanyl Workers United ​ MOST RECENT PRESS RELEASE: MOST RECENT LETTER: Petition

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Press Releases Fentanyl Victim Families, Nonprofits & Law Enforcement to President Biden: Close the Deadly De Minimis Loophole (July 2024) Members of Coalition To Close The De Minimis Loophole Provide Evidence Demonstrating the Significant Role De Minimis Plays in Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking

July 23, 2024 Media Contact: Clayton Tucker Clayton@closedeminimis.com ​ Fentanyl Victim Families, Nonprofits & Law Enforcement to President Biden: Close the Deadly De Minimis Loophole Bad actors abroad smuggle illicit fentanyl and other drugs into the United States via international mail View the full letter here . View the video here . Washington, DC — Today, members of the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole, representing families who have lost loved ones to illicit fentanyl poisoning, law enforcement leaders and non-profit associations, launched a new campaign calling on President Biden to close the deadly loophole and raising awareness about a U.S. trade law that is facilitating the unfettered flow of illicit fentanyl and other narcotics to the U.S. market. The Coalition sent a letter to President Biden today, urging him to use his executive authorities to end de minimis exemptions for millions of unregulated imported packages in order to curtail the flood of illicit substances overall took the lives of more than 107,000 Americans last year alone. In addition, the Coalition launched a video today on social media shining a light on the tragedy associated with fentanyl poisonings across America and the role this legal loophole in U.S. trade law plays. “We would like to share our firsthand experience of de minimis exploitation, which is flooding the United States with fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, pill presses and other illicit goods,” the Coalition’s letter reads. “We hope that this information will help inform your Administration on how de minimis is impacting American citizens and encourage and want to support you in any way to use the Administration’s existing authorities to close this harmful loophole.” “Given the fentanyl epidemic’s devastating impact on families and communities, it is imperative that the Administration accurately and fully diagnose the de minimis loophole’s relationship to the flood of fentanyl entering our country,” the letter stated. ​ De minimis is an outdated trade rule that allows packages valued at $800 or less, per person per day, to enter the United States without normal customs inspection, tariffs or paperwork. The exemption is exploited by bad actors abroad to smuggle counterfeit pills, illicit fentanyl, and other dangerous substances directly to the homes of American consumers. ​ “It is effectively impossible to inspect the 4 million de minimis packages arriving at our ports each day even if funding was made available for the needed addition of more inspectors at express delivery facilities and international mail venues,” the letter stated. “The urgent crisis we face requires the Administration to use its authorities to close this loophole now as Congress contemplates potential reforms.” The letter’s signatories are members of the Coalition to End the De Minimis Loophole , a collection of organizations representing thousands of Americans that includes families of victims of fentanyl fatalities, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, domestic law enforcement associations, domestic manufacturers, and business associations. In the video, one mother underscores the devastating impact of international mail deliveries and the role de minimis plays in facilitating those packages. “De minimis is death delivered to your door,” said Leah DeVere, a mother who lost her son Cory to a counterfeit pill shipped via international mail. “If the rule wasn’t in place, Cory would very well still be with us today.” Former White House Drug Czar Jim Carroll provides firsthand insight into how “drug traffickers are taking advantage of the de minimis trade loophole that allows low-value shipments to enter our country with a relaxed regulatory oversight.” For these reasons, members of the coalition are calling for the administration to take immediate action. The following organizations signed the letter to President Biden: Facing Fentanyl, Families Against Fentanyl, Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, Kelsie’s Cause, Lost Voices of Fentanyl, National Association of Police Organizations, National Crime Prevention Council, Shatterproof, United Against Fentanyl, Voices for Awareness, and Victims of Illicit Drugs (VOID). Earlier this year, 25 organizations launched the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole to amplify the urgent need to close the de minimis loophole. ​ ###

Die Koalition zur Schließung der De-minimis-Lücke Die Koalition wurde gegründet, um die dringende Notwendigkeit zu unterstreichen, eine Gesetzeslücke im Bundesgesetz zu schließen, die als Abschnitt 321 bekannt ist. Diese erlaubt es, Pakete im Wert von weniger als 800 US-Dollar ohne Steuern, Gebühren oder Kontrollen in die USA einzuführen. Dies schwächt inländische Hersteller und Arbeitnehmer, untergräbt die Geschäfte des Einzelhandels, belastet die Ressourcen der Strafverfolgungsbehörden und erleichtert den freien Verkehr illegaler und gefährlicher Produkte und illegaler Drogen, insbesondere Fentanyl – die häufigste Todesursache bei Menschen im Alter von 18 bis 49 Jahren. Die Koalition fordert den Kongress und die Regierung auf, diese gefährliche Gesetzeslücke unverzüglich zu schließen. ​ Zu den wichtigsten Zielen der Koalition gehört es, das Bewusstsein und die Aufklärung über die schädlichen Auswirkungen von „De-minimis“ zu stärken. Bei dieser Gesetzeslücke, die China und andere ausländische Akteure ausnutzen, um den US-Markt mit Fentanyl und anderen illegalen Drogen, unter Sklavenarbeit hergestellten Produkten sowie gefälschten und giftigen Konsumgütern zu überschwemmen.

Letters Fentanyl Victim Families, Nonprofits & Law Enforcement to President Biden: Close the Deadly De Minimis Loophole (July 2024) Members of Coalition To Close The De Minimis Loophole Provide Evidence Demonstrating the Significant Role De Minimis Plays in Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking (May 2024)