A White House executive order announced on Monday ( May 12 ) that the United States will reduce the low value “de minimis” tariff on China shipments from 120 to 54 %, modifying an earlier order imposed by Washington.
With a flat cost of US$ 100 remaining, the price reduction may begin on Wednesday.  ,
The action comes shortly after Beijing and Washington announced a deal ceasefire, with both parties agreeing to rescind the majority of the taxes that have been applied to each other’s goods since earlier April.
Items sent from China via postal services to the US were originally permitted to enter the country duty-free and with few inspections due to the de minimis provision.
After being greatly used by businesses like Shein, Temu and another e-commerce firms as well as traffickers of morphine and other illegal goods, President Donald Trump ended the deduction by imposing a tax of 120 per cent of the package’s value or a anticipated flat fee of US$ 200 in February.
More than 90 % of all packages entering the US via de minimis have increased in recent years, with more than 90 % of those arriving through the tax-free channel. Around 60 % of those came from China, with direct-to-consumer stores like Temu and Shein being the most popular.
Temu, Shein, and Amazon did not respond to inquiries for reply right away.
The White House announced in its order on Monday that it would be amending from 1201 am ( Singapore time ) on May 14 by 12:01 am ( Singapore time ).
The proposed US$ 200 flat fee duty level would also be shelved, the company claimed, keeping it at US$$ 100.
The US de minimis law, which was established in 1938, has drawn increasing criticism from both Democratic and Republican politicians.
Some have criticized it as a hole that allows cheap Chinese goods to enter the US and devalue American industries while also acting as a smuggling smuggling smuggling smuggling smuggling smuggling, including illegal drugs and their compound chemicals.