One Big Beautiful Bill takes down dangerous drug trafficking loophole

Hopes to slow down the drug fentanyl from coming to the commonwealth

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 7, 2025) – Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman praised the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, HR. 1, which President Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025. The landmark legislation delivered on much of President Trump’s agenda, including securing the border, unleashing American energy dominance and cutting taxes for hardworking Kentuckians.

The law also permanently closes a shipping loophole that drug traffickers used to sneak deadly fentanyl and other drugs into the United States from other countries. Known as the “de minimis exemption,” the program allowed packages with a self-reported value under $800 to come into the country with little or no screening. Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order to close the loophole for shipments from China and Hong Kong, and now it will end entirely in June 2027.  

In March, Attorney General Coleman led a 25-state coalition encouraging the Trump Administration to close the loophole exploited by adversaries and drug traffickers. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Commission of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Pete Flores, the attorneys general described how these shipments posed a deadly threat to families in Kentucky and across the country.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid narcotic up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. As little as two milligrams of fentanyl – smaller than the tip of a pencil – can be lethal.

“President Trump and Republicans in Congress took a major step toward protecting American families from deadly drugs by closing the de minimis loophole,” said Attorney General Coleman. “We live in a moment when as little as one pill can – and is – killing our kids. By securing the border and closing loopholes that allowed drugs to pour into the country through this bill, we can cut off the fentanyl supply and save lives from this poison.”

Last year, 1,410 Kentuckians died of a fatal overdose, and fentanyl was present in over 60% of those deaths.