My fellow otakus. Right after, the censorship issue that plagued nearly all of July happened, We have another issue that to deal with… What’s this issue? Well, this time, it involves our collection of otaku goodies. From media, merchandise, and cosplay. Bans aren’t involved, but, instead, economics are involved.
So, the question you’re probably asking? What’s going? Well, recently, according to an update by X user MangaAlerts#uw7s, the De Minimis exemption has been officially suspended by president Donald Trump. There is also the official statement by the White House website for more information. This is a massive blow for many of us otaku, but your first question is, what is the De Minimis exemption anyway?
The De Minimis Exemption was a US trade law that granted a duty-free entry to shipments of goods around the world that were valued less than 800 dollars. Those valued less than 800 dollars were easily imported into the United States and granted duty fees. This law was originally aimed that streamlining low value goods, aimed at reducing government burden. So in other words, goods from other countries that were either low value with less than 800 dollars did not have to deal with an incurring tax like in most countries.
The De Minimis has a long-standing history of controversy among many American investors. Many decry the fact that it causes a massive imbalance for American business, allows foreign businesses to take advantage of tax issues without paying their equal share, and relegates American businesses to a second tier. Many also feel that this tax law prioritizes the more financial gain of foreign business rather than domestic American businesses.
Well… on July 31, 2025, that tax exemption, has officially come to an end. As stated before, president Donald Trump has signed an executive order, also known as Executive Order 14322, which officially suspends the De Minimis exempt. The president reasons for executing this order are based on trade imbalances, boosting domestic strength, and concerns over smuggling of fentanyl through international imports. Although it was set to be suspended on July 1, 2027, the president accelerated the suspension. The exempt is to entirely be removed through the president’s Big Beautiful Bill.
Now that you finished reading it. You probably understand how this issue will dramatically change and alter our way of otaku life, right? While it’s not the most desperate issue, it will cause a massive annoyance to our ways of collecting otaku goodies that we want. Here’s what happens.
Japanese imported goods, media like anime, manga, video games, merchandise like figures, model kits, plush, or apparel like cosplay, or clothes anime and manga themed. You will now have to bear flat fee plus applicable duties. While the exact fee is still being finalized, according to the CBP (US Customs and Border Protection), the fee, according to expert predictions, will range from $5-10 dollars. Extra duties based on the item’s value and country of origin will also be applied. (Japan is on the list).
So what will happen to companies that we rely on like Amiami or Suruga-ya? Depending on the CBP backlog, waiting times for your package will stretch from 1 to 2 weeks to 3–4 weeks. Pre-orders or limited edition purchases face delays. Causing missed release dates or stock shortages. Ouch… So, let’s say example. You bought yourself a rare limited edition of some anime figure from a well known series like Fate or Oshi No Ko, or a Gundam model kit. Let’s just say the price ranges from $50-80 dollars. With the removal of the De Minimis exemption, you will now need to pay a potential extra $5-10 fee. Plus a duty which will probably range from 2.5-4% for Japanese goods. Worse if the goods are made from China due to existing tariffs. Things will get worse from here if the merchandise is priced 200 dollars. Meaning, for example, an extra $15-25 are added to your payment. So, if you’re planning on a merchandise haul directly from Japan, you have to redo your plans…
It won’t just be the merchandise that will be affected by this. In recent months, after the president’s order on tariffs, many Japanese companies that specialize in importing merchandise, like Tokyo Otaku Mode, Good Smile, and Amami have either made massive changes to their prices, delayed orders, or even paused shipments to the US. Although resuming continues, this new EO and eventual law will indefinitely impact American otakus. Especially for importing merchandise directly from Japan. So the question is? What else will happen?
There’s no doubt that companies, as mentioned before, will probably raise the prices of their goods to these tariffs. In fact, retailers be pushed to pass costs to consumers… Even worse… Limit US sales… Companies like Amami will raise prices to higher levels, or offer less US friendly shipping options. A possibility that there will be a shift to bulk shipping or some companies even partner with US distributors. The only problem is, your direct control of orders will be dramatically reduced…
Most companies from Japan that import their goods to the United States will probably move their manufactures from China to Vietnam or Thailand to avoid the wrath of tariffs. Believe or not, but those two mentioned have a niche history of producing officially licensed goods from Japan. This will be done to stabilize long term costs but will also disrupt the chain supply for 2025-2026.
Because of these changes, expect to see yourself, including myself and those around you from our beloved otaku universe to find ourselves relying heavily on either US based companies like Crunchryoll, Viz Media, Barnes & Noble, and other small business owned US stores that have anime and manga merchandise directly from Japan to be significantly relied on for collecting. While I don’t see anything bad about doing that, those of us who want rare goods only available from Japanese companies will become a massive strain for us. Especially if the product is from an old series, and is rarely known by the common fandom. So now, what do we do next?
If you have pending orders from the companies specifically mentioned, check them constantly. If they are shipped before August 29, then you should be good to go. In case you notice anything strange, contact customer service. Another thing to look out for? In case you’re orders, or you plan to buy goods beyond August 29, and you see that the prices of your orders are way beyond your budget, then unfortunately, cancellation will need to happen as that’s the best way to do this is to save money for your budget. From now on, you will need to carefully estimate your orders, and expect a 10-20% per order starting August 29. So let’s say 100 dollars was you’re to go budget. Well, let’s just say you probably gotta up it to $110-120…
Well, my follow otakus. This is the unfortunate news. I’m not going to dive in and get political while picking sides all in the name of grift or drama. More like, what I’m going to talk about is, instead, the tough circumstances of what us otakus face. As if dealing with July’s insane internet censorship purge was already hard to deal with, now we have another problem, and it’s the problem of dealing with even more expensive prices of goods that we want for our otaku bubble. While I do understand that issues like fentanyl and domestic business growth is a concern for the American people, many of us will sorely miss the ease of few to no taxes for our goodies. While I don’t believe it’s the end of the world, all we can do is just save up on more money, lower our orders for now, and for now, just wait to see what happens next. For now, I just say continue what you’re doing, but keep a close eye out if you see anything strange happening. Prices, pre-orders, shipping, etc. The good news is, at least our domestic business still have a good amount of merchandise that we need.
Thank you for reading, and as usual, follow Animangemu, share it to everyone you know, and like!
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