De minimis rule definition

De minimis rule

The principle that a foreign-made item becomes subject to US export controls when more than a threshold percentage of its value is US-origin controlled content.

reviewed

2026-08-20

Cite this page

APA 7

Sanctions Evasion Reference. (2026, August 20). De minimis rule. https://sanctionsevasion.org/reference/glossary/de-minimis-rule/

Chicago

Sanctions Evasion Reference. “De minimis rule.” Last reviewed August 20, 2026. https://sanctionsevasion.org/reference/glossary/de-minimis-rule/.

BibTeX

@misc{ser-reference-glossary-de-minimis-rule,
  author = {{Sanctions Evasion Reference}},
  title  = {De minimis rule},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Last reviewed 2026-08-20},
  url    = {https://sanctionsevasion.org/reference/glossary/de-minimis-rule/}
}

The date is when this page was last reviewed, not when it was first published.

De minimis is one of the two mechanisms that carry US jurisdiction into goods manufactured entirely abroad. Below the threshold the foreign item is outside the Export Administration Regulations; above it, the item and its onward movement are inside them.

Because the test is a percentage of value, it can be engineered. Published enforcement matter describes sourcing decisions taken specifically to keep controlled US content under a threshold, and the analytical response is to look at bills of materials rather than at the finished article’s declared origin.

Where this term is used

What is dual-use re-export diversion? — Buying controlled civil-use goods lawfully in an open market and re-exporting them to a restricted end user, exploiting the fact that the item itself looks entirely ordinary.
What is third-country transshipment? — Routing restricted goods through an intermediate country so that the shipment reaching the restricted destination appears to originate somewhere the exporter would have supplied without question.

Related terms

Re-export — The onward shipment of a controlled item from the country that first received it to a third country, which may itself require a licence from the original exporting state.
Foreign direct product rule — A rule making a foreign-made item subject to US export controls because it is the direct product of US-origin technology, software or production equipment.
Export control — A licensing regime that restricts the export, re-export or transfer of specified goods, software and technology by reference to the item, the destination and the end use.

Where this term is used

Related terms

Sources