Against shopping in China: USA to levy tariffs on low-value shipments from May
Until now, shipments with a value of less than 800 US dollars could be imported duty-free in the USA. This is set to change from May.
(Image: B.Zhou/Shutterstock.com)
As part of the announcement of higher tariffs on imports, the United States has also announced the closure of a loophole that online retailers from the Far East have been exploiting to sell goods very cheaply. The "de minimis" regulation allowed providers such as Temu and Shein to bring goods into the country duty-free. They also use the same principle for EU imports. There are also discussions in this country about changing the rules or taking tougher action to protect domestic trade.
In the USA, it was previously possible to import goods with a total value of less than 800 US dollars duty-free. According to the Washington Post, this regulation was used for 83 percent of all e-commerce imports. Most of these goods came from China.
Gradual increases
From May 2, this is to be a thing of the past. Then either 30 percent of the value of the goods or 25 US dollars per item will be due for low-value shipments. An increase to 50 US dollars per item is already planned for June, the White House announced.
The US government justifies the suspension of the exemption regulation with the import of drugs and aids for drug production from China. On average, four million shipments per day arrive in the USA that fall under the exemption. This large volume is used to smuggle the banned shipments into the country. At the same time, however, the approach fits in with the declared intention of the general import duty increases to strengthen the domestic economy and boost domestic demand.
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Already the second attempt
This is the second attempt by the USA to suspend the regulation. In the first attempt, at the beginning of February, the United States Postal Service had to temporarily stop accepting parcels and packages from China altogether because it could no longer cope with the volume of shipments to be processed. As a result, the old duty-free regulations were reinstated. This time, the company is better prepared thanks to new systems, they say.
Shein and Temu are said to be responsible for around 30 percent of all parcels sent to the USA every day, reports the Washington Post. However, the suspension of the de minimis rule would also affect Amazon, a US provider, as the online shipper now also offers Amazon Haul, a store that offers cheaper direct imports from China.
(mki)
