WASHINGTON – U.S. online shoppers will now enjoy reduced costs on items priced under $800 coming from China. This follows a truce between the Trump administration and Beijing, lowering previously high tariffs.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday stating that tariffs on low-value parcels from China, processed through the U.S. Postal Service, will decrease to 54% from a previous 120%.
The order also maintains the per-package flat rate alternative to the value-based tariff at $100, avoiding an increase to $200 set for June 1. Commercial carrier packages will also benefit from a reduction in the general tariff.
The new rules go into effect Wednesday.
They are part of a broader agreement by the Trump administration to drastically lower import taxes on all Chinese goods from 145% to 30% following weekend talks in Switzerland with Chinese officials. China issued a public notice on Tuesday lowering its own tariffs on U.S. goods to 10%, down from 125%.
However, the reductions are temporary, allowing the two sides to negotiate a longer-term deal in the next 90 days.
Izzy Rosenzweig, founder and CEO of the logistic company Portless, said U.S. brands are “very excited” about the broader tariff cut. The import tax is still high, but not as prohibitive as when it was 145%, which amounted to a trade embargo.
On the low-value shipments, online purchases had been coming into the U.S. duty-free for several years under the de minimis rule, which exempted them from the import tax.
Popular shopping sites such as Shein and Temu that offer ultra-low prices took advantage of the duty-free rule by shipping directly from China to U.S. buyers, bypassing more cumbersome customs paperwork.
President Donald Trump terminated the exemption on such parcels originating from China and Hong Kong on May 2, following criticism that it not only resulted in lost tariff revenue but also allowed illicit drugs and unsafe products to flow into the U.S. without adequate scrutiny.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said as many as 4 million low-value parcels were coming into the U.S. every day — many of which originated from China.
Shortly before the exemption ended on May 2, prices on many items sold by Shein rose. Temu apparently halted shipments from China and tapped its existing inventory in the U.S.
John Lash, group vice president of product strategy at the supply chain platform e2open, said he expected the volume of low-value packages would now rise but not back to previous levels. The $100 flat rate, he said, means that higher-value packages could get less of a hit, because the effective duty rate could be as low as 13%.
Neither Shein nor Temu immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday about the lower tariffs.
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