It was an example. There's no need to be pedantic.
$800 is a meaningful exception for personal use. If you want a turkish $400 rug or a $300 indian wedding dress, it was always meant to be for personal, not corporate, use.
Can we agree that the law as it was intended was completely abused ?
$800 was set out of desperation. CBP was overwhelmed and underfunded, so the executive increased the de minimis to significantly higher than any other country ti relive their workload. The proper solution would have been for Congress to increase funding to maintain a reasonable de minimis (many countries use around $50-200), but that wasn't happening.
From talking to friends workings in imports and manufacturing, they expect what will happen is weeks or months of delay on most shipments as CBP is utterly unequipped to deal with the volume.
The last time congress changed the de minimus threshold, it gave the following context in the corresponding Act:
FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Modernizing international customs is critical for United
States businesses of all sizes, consumers in the United States,
and the economic growth of the United States.
(2) Higher thresholds for the value of articles that may
be entered informally and free of duty provide significant eco-
nomic benefits to businesses and consumers in the United
States and the economy of the United States through costs
savings and reductions in trade transaction costs.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that
the United States Trade Representative should encourage other
countries, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to
establish commercially meaningful de minimis values for express
and postal shipments that are exempt from customs duties and
taxes and from certain entry documentation requirements, as appro-
priate
What exactly does suggest to you that this is intended for personal, non-commerce use?
