Oh, the liberal tears are flowing like a mighty river! President Trump, in his infinite wisdom, is shutting down the duty-free loophole that China (and other sneaky countries) have been exploiting to flood our great nation with cheap goods. It’s about time someone stood up to these commies!
President Trump last week suspended a global trade loophole allowing smaller parcels into America duty-free. Giant e-commerce sites used the loophole when shipping hundreds of millions of packages to US consumers.
The administration did away with the exemption for goods coming out of China and Hong Kong in May amid the US-China trade war. This latest move extends that to every country around the world.
Trump said in an executive order issued on Wednesday that “many shippers go to great lengths to evade law enforcement and hide illicit substances in imports that go through international commerce.”
This is more bad news for Chinese retailers and their customers because it shuts down the option of re-routing small shipments duty-free through countries like Vietnam.
Temu and Shein had already started stockpiling goods and bulk-shipping to US warehouses to lower shipping times.
Hours after the de minimis exemption expired for China in early May, Temu announced it was overhauling its shipping model.
Companies also will eventually need to restock their warehouses, and “by imposing (the suspension of de minimis) for the whole world, there is no other workaround.”
Companies will now have to pay a hefty import tax even if they ship in bulk, which means customers may eventually have to pay more.
The suspension of de minimis will also affect the millions of sellers on Amazon Haul, a discount competitor to Temu and TikTok Shop.
Last week’s repeal will affect a massive amount of packages that Americans are accustomed to receiving duty-free, the sheer amount of which has grown exponentially over the past decade.
CBP previously told CNN it processes “nearly 4 million duty-free de minimis shipments a day.” Research indicates that a majority of those shipments come from China and Hong Kong.
When Trump’s executive order goes into effect on August 29, most goods shipped internationally will be subject to the tariffs of the country of origin.
Lower-income households will suffer the most from higher prices on Chinese e-commerce sites.
The Trump administration had first slashed the de minimis exemption on China in May, but then cut the tariff on those cheap packages from 120% to 54%.
A federal trade court this week declined to block Trump’s elimination of the de minimis exemption on goods from China.
As part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” the de minimis rule was slated for repeal on all countries in July 2027.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
