Despite agreement with China: US tariffs for Temu & Shein only slightly lowered
The USA and China have agreed to significantly reduce tariffs on each other for 90 days. Online retailers such as Temu and Shein are largely excluded.
(Image: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock.com)
The governments of the USA and China agreed on Monday to reduce their mutual tariffs. However, parcels that previously fell under the de minimis rule will continue to be subject to a 54 percent tariff or 100 US dollars. This is stated in the White House statement. After the new US government lifted the exemption that had been in place for years, the tariffs for parcels also rose to 145 percent. Although the 54% is now significantly lower, online retailers such as Temu or Shein are still likely to face an immense burden. Only for particularly inexpensive goods could direct shipping from China to the USA now pay off again.
Tariffs comparatively high despite reduction
The so-called de minimis rule for duty-free deliveries of goods worth less than 800 US dollars was criticized for years and repealed by Donald Trump at the beginning of April. Online retailers of extremely cheap goods such as Temu and Shein in particular had benefited from this, as they were able to bring them into the country duty-free. Initially, tariffs of 30 percent of the value of the goods or 25 US dollars per item were announced for such packages, but this quickly became 145 percent or 100 US dollars – depending on the supplier's preference. Although the reduction that has now taken place has resulted in significantly lower fees, they are still higher than those announced at the beginning of April. Above all, they are much higher than when the traders started their business.
Videos by heise
Temu ended deliveries to the USA at the beginning of May. It is not yet clear whether the Chinese company will resume at least some of them. Experts have speculated to the news agency Reuters that the tariffs for such shipments have also been reduced to 30 percent as part of the agreement between China and the USA. Such comparatively high duties could also be shouldered if they are due on the cheapest goods. However, it remains to be seen whether this also applies to tariffs of 54 percent. In addition, from June 200 US dollars per parcel will be payable if the supplier does not declare the value of the goods based on which the duty can be calculated.
For the online retailers themselves, it is therefore likely to be cheaper to import the goods normally and store them in US warehouses. They will then only have to pay the temporary 30 percent duty. Competitors in the US have criticized the de minimis rule for years as unfair aid for Chinese companies. Initially, Trump also justified this approach by pointing out that the dangerous drug fentanyl also enters the country via this route. After suspending his tariffs for almost all countries shortly after the presentation, his government was also able to reach an agreement with China on the weekend. The reduction in reciprocal tariffs is limited in time.
(mho)
