WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has suspended I will impose customs duties With a small package that arrives ChinaApparently, to give federal agencies time to organize how to process millions of such shipments that have crossed the US border every day without paying taxes.
Wednesday’s executive order did not say when the suspension would end, Ministry of Commerce An “appropriate system” can be implemented to “completely and normally collect customs revenue.”
“It shows we’re moving fast. Many small packages have been affected,” John Rush, vice president of product strategies for supply chain platform E2Open, pointing to Trump’s order. Many are in transit.
“The volume is absolutely incredible,” Rush said. “And all of a sudden they don’t require filing (due to customs duties), so they actually require a full filing. This is a complicated task.”
There is a termination of tariff exemption in low-cost packages from China Wide range of bipartisan support In Washington, Trump pulled the plug when he raised tariffs on Chinese goods earlier this week. Items sent via tax-free packages were subject to not only existing tariffs, but also new 10% in many Chinese products.
It marks another moratorium on Trump’s policies in the weeks of his second administration. Orders impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada it was Stopped after two allies He took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.
The US postal service announced on Tuesday that it would not accept parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong, as it would be burdensome to collect tariffs in small packages. Reversing the decision the next day. It said it will work with customs and border protection to implement a collection process for the new tariffs.
“It’s one of those things that catch people who aren’t ready because you’ve gone into all the changes,” Rush said.
The so-called De Minimis exception, introduced in 1938, is intended to promote the flow of small packages worth less than $5, worth about $106 today. The threshold increased to $200 in 1994 and to $800 in 2016. Rapid rise in cross-border e-commercehas challenged the intent of customs exception rules decades ago, driven by China.
China’s exports in low value packages surged in 2023 from $5.3 billion in 2018 to $66 billion. Report It was released last week by the Congressional Research Service. And the US market was a major destination.
For the first time in 2023, this package was delivered through US customs, with over 1 billion, up from 134 million in 2015. By the end of last year, customs and border protection said it was processing around 4 million cargoes a day. Eventually, they came from China through online retail platforms such as Shein and Temu.
Critics say the practice not only avoids tariffs, but also keeps unsafe products to US supporters, such as counterfeits and illegal drugs, keeping prices affordable for US consumers and small businesses. He said he claimed it would be useful.
After Trump abolished the exemption, some analysts said changes in policy could lead to higher prices and delivery delays as they deal with the onslaught of packages for US customs officials to scrutinize. I pointed it out.
“We’re talking about millions of packages that are now treated essentially like domestic shipping,” says Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData.
He said Temu has already been adjusted by increasing warehouse capabilities in the US over the past year and shipping products in containers.
Lash said the end of the DE Minimis exception rule would change the cross-border e-commerce model if tariffs and document submissions increase costs, leading international sellers to resort to bulk shipping.
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Hadero reported from South Bend, Indiana.
