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Mr Cuellar was a lawyer and former customs broker before entering politics.

But that cost would roughly double for the consumer if de minimis treatment no longer applied because importers would have to hire a customs broker and pay additional processing fees and the import duty.

Drake said that cutting back the threshold not only would represent a big tax increase for many U.S. small businesses, but many would would have to hire a customs broker to process their shipments.

One longtime customs broker said government agents often face bribe-or-bullet ultimatums from crime groups.

“Maybe they were paid to come and cause a problem,” said Beth McCoy, a retired customs broker, who sat in her yard this summer, sorting through children’s Valentines sent to protesters.