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US President Donald Trump temporarily suspends measures to close tariff exemptions for low-cost shipments from China, and authorities find a way to tax millions of packages arriving in the US every day .
Amendments to the executive order signed on Wednesday and released on Friday, the White House said the so-called De Minimis provision (exempts shipments of less than $800 in value from customs duties and strict customs checks) were “appropriate.” “There is a system in place to fully and properly process and collect customs revenue.”
Trump cancelled the exemption last week in an executive order and imposed an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. The White House said it aims to punish Beijing to allow the fatal opioid fentanyl flow to the United States. The remaining duties remain in effect.
A few days later, China announced 10-15% tariffs on US liquefied natural gas, coal, crude oil and agricultural equipment.
Trump said Tuesday that he was “not in a hurry” to talk to his Chinese counterparts.
The De Minimis regulations were designed to help US households and small businesses purchase low-cost items from overseas without being subject to troublesome customs checks. In recent years, it has proven its benefits to e-commerce platforms that ship directly to consumers such as the Chinese scene and Tem.
However, the move to cancel the exemption a few days after it was announced has warned customs officials that it will force customs officials to apply a more complicated formal entry process to all packages arriving from China. Ta.
US Customs and Border Protection estimates that it will process more than 4 million low-value cargo every day. The 2023 Congressional Select Committee Report estimated that around 30% of these packages came from Temu and Shein.
Experts also say the move will cause the plots that previously were subject to de minimis on existing trade taxes as well as 10% tariffs.
The US Postal Service on Tuesday suspended receipt of packages from China, including Hong Kong, and backtracked it before accepting the cargo a day later. USPS said it is working with customs officials to establish an “efficient collection mechanism” as prompt implementation of the directive has caused disruptions for customs official workloads and exporters and freight carriers. I did.
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China’s e-commerce sellers also said this week that some logistics groups are charging withholding fees to cover tax and other customs costs.
For a long time, US officials had minimal rules for their vision. Domestic retailers who buy large quantities of items from overseas complain that the exemption has given Chinese e-commerce groups an unfair cost advantage.
Former US President Joe Biden’s administration had proposed measures to strengthen rules regarding the de Minimis regime.
A report from Japanese investment bank Nomura Analyst found that China will ship a package worth $46 billion to the US in 2024 under the DE Minimis regulations and abolish the exemption, resulting in a report from China’s economic growth in 2025. We estimated that we could knock 0.2 percent points.
