White House Updates Order: Temporary Suspension of Tariffs on Small Packages from China

On February 7, the White House issued an order stating that the United States will temporarily allow small packages from China to continue entering the country duty-free. (Li Mei / Dajiyuan)

People News - On February 7, the White House issued an order stating that the United States will temporarily allow small packages from China to continue entering the country duty-free, delaying a rule that had raised concerns about trade disruptions.

According to a report by Voice of America, last Saturday, former President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on China, including an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products. These new measures took effect on Tuesday.

The executive order issued on February 1 was titled "Imposing Tariffs to Address the People's Republic of China’s Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain." That measure also ended the "de minimis exemption," which allowed imports valued at $800 or less to enter the U.S. without tariffs. This exemption had already been under scrutiny.

U.S. officials noted that shipments claiming the "de minimis exemption" have surged, largely due to the rapid growth of Chinese e-commerce retailers Shein and Temu.

However, the measure announced on Tuesday to eliminate the "de minimis exemption" could have caused significant delays for packages shipped from these two companies into the U.S.

On Friday, the White House issued a new executive order under Trump titled "Amending Tariffs to Address the People's Republic of China’s Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain," updating the rules announced on February 1. The new order states that the duty-free treatment can continue until the U.S. Secretary of Commerce determines that an appropriate system is in place to efficiently and comprehensively assess and collect tariff revenue.

According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the number of shipments claiming the "de minimis exemption" increased from approximately 139 million per year in fiscal year 2015 to over 1 billion per year in fiscal year 2023.

Analysts have pointed out that closing this trade loophole could disrupt the business models of e-commerce giants Shein and Temu, with consumers likely bearing most of the costs.

At a time when inflation has eroded household purchasing power in nearly every sector, both platforms claim to offer a vast selection of ultra-cheap products.