The US eliminates tariff exemption on low-value shipments from China and Hong Kong.

The US government on Friday eliminated the so-called "de minimis" exemption for imports of products from China and Hong Kong under $800, which exempted these packages from paying tariffs and had until now benefited e-commerce giants such as Temu and Shein.

President Donald Trump signed his executive order on April 2, establishing that the exemption would end on May 2, local time.

According to his executive order, imported goods shipped by means other than the postal network with a value equal to or less than $800 are now subject to all applicable tariffs.

Mailings valued at or below $800 are subject to a tariff of 30% of their value or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item starting June 1).

According to the Asia-based Hinrich Foundation, the de minimis provision, officially known as Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930, was designed for a very different world.

Their original intention was to avoid inconveniencing American tourists bringing home souvenirs. But with the rise of e-commerce, these provisions came to play an important role by exempting low-value goods from unnecessary procedures and costs, thus boosting the growth of small and medium-sized exporters.

This exemption had been in the spotlight in recent years due to the explosion of Chinese e-commerce companies such as Shein, Temu, and AliExpress, part of the giant Alibaba, and the fact that these packages are subject to more lax inspections.

The United States processed more than 1.3 billion de minimis shipments in 2024, according to official data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This represented a dramatic increase from the 139 million processed just a decade earlier, in 2015.

On average, the White House said in early April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes more than four million "de minimis" shipments each day.

Washington framed the end of the waiver as part of its fight against China's role in the synthetic opioid crisis in the United States, viewing it as "a fundamental step to counter the current health emergency posed by the illicit flow of synthetic opioids" into the country.

For the All-China Federation of Light Industry, the end of the waiver "greatly undermines the normal trade order between China and the United States." When it was announced in early April, the organization estimated that it "seriously affects the global industry" and "greatly harms the rights and interests of consumers, including those of the American people."

The administration of Democrat Joe Biden (2021-2025) had considered ending this benefit, but did not follow through on its plan.

And although Trump effectively eliminated that exemption in February by imposing a 10% tariff on imports from China, also affecting packages valued under $800, he had to reverse its implementation to give the customs service time to prepare for the change, after it was initially overwhelmed.