US to cut "de minimis" tariff on Chinese shipments following trade deal
The United States will cut the low value "de minimis" tariff on China shipments, a White House executive order said on Monday, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world's two largest economies.
The move comes several hours after Beijing and Washington announced a truce in their trade spat after weekend talks in Geneva, with both sides agreeing to unwind most of the tariffs imposed on each other's goods since early April, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
While their joint statement in Geneva didn't mention the de minimis duties, the White House order released later said the levies will be reduced to 54% from 120%, with a flat fee of $100 to remain, starting from May 14.
The de minimis exemption, for items valued at up to $800 and sent from China via postal services, were previously able to enter the United States duty free and with minimal inspections.
In February, President Donald Trump ended the de minimis exemption by imposing a tax of 120% of the package's value or a planned flat fee of $200 - set to come into effect by June - blaming it for being heavily used by companies such as Shein, Temu and other e-commerce firms as well as traffickers of fentanyl and other illicit goods.
The number of shipments entering the U.S. through the tax-free channel exploded in recent years with more than 90% of all packages coming via de minimis. Of those, about 60% came from China, led by direct-to-consumer retailers such as Temu and Shein.
Chinese online retailers Shein, PDD Holdings-owned (PDD.O) Temu and U.S. rival Amazon (AMZN.O) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In Monday's order, the White House said the reduced tariffs will take effect by 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on May 14, 2025.
The plan for a $200 flat fee duty rate would also be shelved, it said, keeping it at $100.
Similar news
