Rocky waters ahead for British artist stopping sales to customers across the pond
The Trump administration said it’s ending the exemption to protect Americans. It said the provision, which was codified in the U.S. tax code, has been used to “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.”
De minimis shipping volume has ballooned over the past few years — rising from about 637 million shipments in the 2020 fiscal year to nearly 1.4 billion in 2024, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. China accounted for around three-quarters of the 2024 volume. The U.K. cracked the top five but accounted for a much smaller share, at around 3%.
“I appreciate that the reasoning behind a lot of it is to stop all of the cheap imports from China,” Chappell said. “But we’re very different businesses to those ones.”
Chappell already slowed down selling to countries in the European Union over the last couple years after changes to regulations there, and she stopped altogether in December. Now, the U.S. end to the de minimis exemption leaves her with even fewer places to sell her art.
“More and more countries are introducing taxes and other barriers to selling internationally,” she said. “It’s just sad that it’s people like us who get caught up in that.”
Moving on
Chappell hopes that in a couple of months, she’ll be able to at least restart portrait sales to U.S. customers, but the damage will already have been done.
“The problem is that those five or six months is Christmas for me, which is the majority of my income for the year,” she said. “I stand to lose a lot of money from not selling to the U.S. But I don’t see any other option.”
Chappell is unsure whether she will ever resume selling to U.S. customers on Etsy.
Etsy said that as the new trade policies take effect, it is fortifying purchase protection, letting buyers know whether their orders may be subject to tariffs, advocating for small businesses and making it easier for sellers to confirm their countries of origin before they ship their items.
“Etsy is closely monitoring rapidly evolving regulatory changes and remains committed to showing up for our community by providing a transparent, reliable experience for shoppers and equipping sellers with the support they need to succeed,” CEO Josh Silverman said.
For now, Chappell is looking to sell more in U.K. shops. She hopes to stay an artist full time if she can.
“I love working for myself. I love interacting with my customers. I ove spending my days painting,” she said. “It’s not like I’m making huge amounts of money, but it’s just worth it to do something that I love.”