Donald Trump signed an executive order as part of his ‘Liberation Day’ plans that charges a 30% tax on orders under $800 from foreign retailers that could change the face of online shopping forever.

The president spent Wednesday launching his tariff plan and giving a fiery speech criticizing the rest of the world for taking advantage of the United States. 

A jittery Wall Street is bracing for chaos Thursday morning as US stock markets open for the first time since President Trump unveiled the higher-than-expected tariffs.

The executive order closes what’s known as the ‘de minimis’ loophole, a century-old trade law that allows imports valued under $800 to enter the US duty-free – provided they are shipped directly to individual buyers.

Closing the exception could be the death knell for companies like Shein and Temu, which ship directly from China and Hong kong to avoid various import fees. 

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency processes over one billion de minimis shipments per year, with Shein and Temu alone accounting for nearly 600,000 packages daily.

Trump explained in the order that ending the exception is meant as a way to ‘combat China’s role in America’s synthetic opioid crisis.’

The president initially got rid of the loophole in early February before making a quick U-turn after shoppers had complained they were already feeling the pain of his new rules.

Donald Trump signed an executive order as part of his ‘Liberation Day’ plans that now charges a 30% tax on orders under $800 from foreign retailers that could change the face of online shopping forever

The president spent Wednesday launching his tariff plan and giving a fiery speech – with several of his fans cheering him on – criticizing the rest of the world for taking advantage of the United States

However, the delay was only so the Commerce Department can confirm procedures are in place to process them and collect tariff revenue. 

Chinese companies had been increasingly taking advantage of this rule, prior to Trump getting rid of it. Chinese exports of low-value packages jumped to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018. 

The re-closing of the loophole means prices will rise for Americans who buy $5 shirts, $10 lamps and $20 shoes on direct-from-China shopping sites. 

Retail experts say that regular US retailers like Walmart and Amazon, who ship items from domestic warehouses, face a disadvantage compared to their rivals who ship items directly from China and avoid various import fees.  

It comes as Wall Street holds its breath ahead of the markets opening for the first day after the tariffs were announced.

Markets are expected to open sharply lower, wiping trillions of dollars off the value of US stocks —  a blow that will also hit ordinary Americans whose retirement savings are tied to the market. 

After Trump’s announcement on Wednesday afternoon, futures tied to the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones plunged — signaling a rough day ahead when markets open this morning. 

Overnight, global stocks tumbled as recession fears spread. Japan’s Nikkei index sank tumbled more than 3 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.5 percent. In Australia’s main index dipped 1.9 percent, heading for its worst single-day decline since September.

The president unveiled the tariffs on a country-by-country basis in the Rose Garden

Several members of Trump’s Cabinet – Vice President J.D. Vance (from left), Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins – were at the ceremony

Trump made the announcement Wednesday afternoon in the White House Rose Garden, unveiling broad 10 percent tariffs — with even higher rates for certain countries. This includes 34 percent on China, and 20 percent on the European Union.

By then, Wall Street had closed, but futures tied to major US indexes immediately nosedived as investors worried about rising inflation and economic fallout. 

At one point, futures that track the S&P 500 were down 3.5 percent, the Nasdaq-100 fund down 4.2 percent and the Dow Jones lower by 2.5 percent. 

Losses eased slightly overnight but remained deep ahead of the 9.30am market open in New York. The Nasdaq is set for its biggest drop since September 2022. 

Companies reliant on imports were hit hard in after-hours trading. Nike fell 6 percent, General Motors dropped 3 percent, and tech stocks like Nvidia and Tesla each lost about 3 percent. Retailers also suffered steep losses, with Five Below tumbling 11 percent and Gap sinking 12 percent. 

The sharp selloff followed Trump’s fiery remarks, in which he accused foreign nations of ‘ripping off’ the United States and vowed to impose tariffs on imports across the globe. The tariffs were higher than expected.

The White House announced a baseline 10 percent tariff on all imports, effective April 5, with higher rates for countries imposing steeper duties on US goods.

Trump confirmed that from midnight in Washington, a 25 percent tariff would be imposed on all foreign cars imported to the US.

Guests attends Make America Wealthy Again event in the Rose Garden at the White House

The first of eight pages of reciprocal tariffs that the White House announced during Wednesday’s event in the Rose Garden 

Trump held up a chart while speaking at the White House, showing the United States would charge a 34 percent tax on imports from China, a 20 percent tax on imports from the European Union, 25 percent on South Korea, 24 percent on Japan and 32 percent on Taiwan.

The president used aggressive rhetoric to describe a global trade system that the United States helped to build after World War II, saying ‘our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered’ by other nations.

He has promised that factory jobs will return back to the United States as a result of the taxes, but his policies risk a sudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes on autos, clothes and other goods.

‘Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,’ Trump said in remarks at the White House. ‘But it is not going to happen anymore.’

He condemned ‘foreign scavengers.’ And he talked of other nations that had ‘pillaged, raped and plundered’ the U.S. and ‘foreign cheaters’ who ‘ransacked’ American factories. 

It took nearly 20 minutes before Trump shared the tariff details. 

‘For nations that treat us badly we will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, non-monetary barriers and other forms of cheating. And because we are being very kind … We will charge them approximately half of what they charge us,’ Trump said. 

Trump then held up a large sign that showed the calculations. 

Closing the exception could be the death knell for companies like Shein and Temu, which ship directly from China and Hong kong to avoid various import fees

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency processes over one billion de minimis shipments per year, with Shein and Temu alone accounting for nearly 600,000 packages daily 

As Trump went through the chart, he knocked even some of the U.S.’s closest allies for charging import taxes. 

‘The European Union. They’re very tough, very, very tough traders. You think of European Union, very friendly. They rip us off. It’s so said to see. It’s pathetic,’ Trump said. ‘Thirty-nine percent, we’re going to charge them 20 percent, so we’re charging them essentially half.’ 

The largest tariff will hit the African nation of Lesotho, at a rate of 50 percent. 

Canada and Mexico were exempt from Wednesday’s tariff announcement, due to the president already charging them 25 percent excluding the goods outlined in the trade agreement from Trump’s first administration. 

‘They all understand, we’re gonna have to go through a little tough love maybe? But they all understand. They’re ripping us off and they understood,’ Trump said.