President Donald Trump’s latest trade actions may be the death knell for the de minimis trade exception.
After banning China’s use of the duty-free import tool (which applies to shipments worth $800 or less) last week, the president effectively tripled the tariffs that China-originating parcels will face as they enter the U.S. on Tuesday. Then, on Thursday, he upped the stakes again.
Small shipments that would have once qualified for de minimis that are sent through the international postal network were slated to be subject to a duty rate of either 30 percent of their value or $25 per parcel—a fee that would rise to $50 after June 1. By Tuesday, Trump said those same shipments would face levies worth 90 percent of their value or $75 (which will rise to $150 after June 1). And on Thursday, the president released a new executive order, driving the tariff rate for small parcels sent through international post up to 120 percent or $100, a rate that will increase to $200 after June 1.
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The rapid escalation spells major trouble for giants like Shein and Temu, whose low-value products will now become exponentially more costly to American consumers.
With the move, he aimed to hit back at the steep retaliatory duties China levied against the U.S. The president also said the tariff increase would ensure that China would not be able to circumvent the executive order or undermine the de minimis ban, which takes effect on May 2.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer explained the decision to lawmakers at a Ways and Means Committee hearing on the “Trump Administration’s 2025 Trade Policy Agenda” on Wednesday, saying, “What we saw were foreign companies abusing the system and taking advantage of it and building a commercial…case for their entire business on it. And that ended up undermining a lot of a lot of retailers here in the United States.”
Greer stated that the administration believes “it’s important to make sure that that tool is used for its original purpose, and not for… other countries to avoid duty payments or things like that.”
News of the decision was naturally eclipsed by the spectacle of Washington and Beijing trading tariffs throughout the week. As it stands, U.S. goods will face 84-percent duties when imported into China, and Chinese goods will face tariffs worth 104 percent when they enter the U.S.
