Trump ends duty exemption for small packages
US President Donald Trump just took another blow to those who fought. e-commerce industrywhich is still upset from the cleaning fees Trump announced in the spring. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order that widens the impact of these tariffs, making it more expensive for Americans to purchase foreign products on sites such as eBay, Etsy, and Amazon.
This order eliminates the so-called “de minimis” provision. This is a long-standing policy that allows Americans to import packages for under $800 from anywhere in the world. These packages are subject to the same country-specific duties as larger shipments. Factsheet Released by the White House.
Already playing cards It’s been removed A minimum exemption from Chinese products earlier this year. The President’s new executive order is now removing it for all other countries since August 29th. Until then, experts say many foreign sellers and American companies with offshore warehouses are in a hurry to put their products in the US. “Looking for lots of sales as the brand will try to settle its stock overseas in the next 30 days,” said Aaron Rubin, CEO of logistics company Shiphero. Social Media Posts.
There are temporary exceptions to packages passing through the international postal network. This means shipping that is not processed by private companies such as DHL or FedEx. It is difficult for customs officials to easily calculate the value of these packages, so for now, they are subject to a fixed tariff rate of $80 to $200 per item. The Trump administration has said the special tariff rules will expire in six months. He then states that all shipments will be taxed in accordance with the country-specific tariffs that Trump has begun to negotiate with individual countries like Japan.
The De Minimis exemption was originally designed to allow us travelers to bring in gifts and items of homes purchased overseas for personal use without paying their duties. But just as the e-commerce industry boomed, the rules also made it cheaper and more efficient for Americans to order products online from around the world. Until this year, overseas sellers often used trade loopholes to send packages directly to consumers’ gateways at very low cost. Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows that the US receives an average of 4 million minimum shipments daily.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the policy are Shein and beforesystematically using minimal shipping to create a supply chain that keeps prices low and can meet consumer demand in real time. They were the first to fall victim to Trump’s tariffs when they issued an executive order in April, removing the exemption from the package from China.
When the tax exemption ended, some analysts feared it was an extinct level threat to Chinese e-commerce sites, but most of the time they learned to adapt and resume normal operations. But Temu and Shein did Raise prices Many products take into account the additional costs of new customs duties.