US to end Friday shipping loophole for goods from China
SELLERS OF GOODS FROM CHINA An illustration photo taken on April 24, 2025 shows the logos of Chinese shopping app Taobao (2ndR), Chinese shopping app AliExpress (L), Chinese e-commerce company Shein app (R) and online marketplace Temu on a smartphone screen. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
WASHINGTON, United States — The United States is set to end tariff exemptions on Friday for goods shipped from China worth less than $800. This could have significant ramifications on consumers’ purchasing habits.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to ban the so-called “de minimis” exemption from May 2 could affect some 4 million shipments every day, according to the White House.
The move announced last month means that goods shipped commercially will soon be subject to new tariffs of 145 percent. This is the current level of levies imposed on goods coming from China.
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Items sent through the US Postal Service will be hit with duties of 120 percent of their value, or $100. This will increase to $200 next month.
The measures mark the latest salvo in a burgeoning trade war between the United States and China. They are the world’s two largest economies.
The White House has also slapped additional levies of 25 percent on several sectors. These include automobiles, steel and aluminum from China.
Chinese government strikes back
Beijing retaliated with sweeping 125 percent levies on US imports.
Most other US trading partners face a baseline tariff of 10 percent. Exceptions are Mexico and Canada which face a higher 25-percent tariff on goods not covered by a current North America free-trade deal.
READ: Key trade loophole keeps cheap Chinese products flowing to US
The effect of the de minimis change is likely to be significant. It changes overnight the cost of small-ticket, Chinese-made items that Americans have come to rely on, from clothes to toys.
The move threatens to hammer the business model of several large Chinese firms, including fast-fashion titans Shein and Temu.
The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Shein was postponing a long-standing plan to list on public stock markets. This is due to the looming de minimis changes.
The company is exploring ways to restructure its business in the United States. It is prioritizing finding “clarity” on tariffs over its initial public offering, according to the Financial Times.
Trump first floated cancelling the exemption in February before backtracking after the move caused logistical disruptions.
At the time, Beijing accused the United States of “politicizing trade and economic issues and using them as tools.”
