source:www.77d.cn

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday reportedly restored a "de minimis" duty-free threshold for small packages from China (valued at less than $800) to give the U.S. Commerce Department time to make the order workable after the rapid change caused confusion for customs inspectors, postal and courier services and online retailers.

Trump restores $800 tax-free policy According to a White House press release, Trump announced in an executive order that the tax-free treatment for small packages from China will continue to be effective until "adequate systems are established to fully and quickly process and collect tariff revenues." Trump did not specify the effective time of the latest executive order.

Niall van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at freight pricing platform Xeneta, said Temu and Shein move a combined 9,000 metric tons of cargo around the world every day, the equivalent of about 88 fully loaded Boeing 777 freighters. “You can’t suddenly stop such a large volume of air freight, so it’s not surprising that the executive order on de minimis has been delayed.” The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, which inspects e-commerce packages and collects tariffs, held a meeting with logistics professionals on Thursday to discuss the status of more than 1 million packages piled up at JFK, according to people familiar with the matter. Customs has begun releasing packages it holds at JFK, which receives about 60 million de minimis e-commerce packages a year, according to a logistics executive.

Logistics providers may cancel new charges US President Trump signed an executive order on February 1 to impose a 10% tariff on goods imported from China. In addition, the United States also stipulated that the de minimis exemption for small packages will no longer apply.

In many foreign media reports, small-value goods from China have become the biggest reason for the cancellation of the bill. The US media pointed out that small packages of goods sent from China to the United States, such as shoes, clothing, accessories, 3C digital products, and household goods, are usually worth less than $800 per package, including 70% of textiles and clothing imported from China. According to statistics, more than 10% of goods exported from China to the United States have used the $800 minimum duty-free policy to avoid taxes. According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in the past 10 years, the number of goods entering the United States that apply for "minimum" tariff exemptions has increased significantly, from about 139 million pieces per year in fiscal year 2015 to more than 1 billion pieces per year in fiscal year 2023, an increase of more than 600%. In fiscal year 2024, the number of "minimum" goods will rise again to more than 1.36 billion pieces. According to the previous tax-free policy, goods worth less than $800 can enjoy duty-free benefits when entering the United States, which is very beneficial to Chinese cross-border e-commerce companies, because with the reduction of tax pressure, sellers can deliver cheaper goods to American consumers. Under Trump's new policy, the costs of sellers, logistics and platforms may face a new round of increases in the future. As the Trump administration previously canceled the $800 minimum duty-free policy, customs clearance fees have increased. After the simplified declaration procedure is canceled, companies need to follow the regular customs clearance process, which will also increase the manpower, material and financial costs required for customs clearance. Many cross-border logistics companies have made adjustments, including charging customs clearance fees or pre-collecting a certain percentage of tariff deposits when the package is signed in. Now, the Trump administration has announced the restoration of the $800 minimum duty-free policy. Some industry insiders pointed out that logistics companies may cancel the new charging policy, and the specific details still need to wait for the adjustment notice of each logistics company.